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HE  FORMATION  OF  CHARITY 
RGANIZATION  SOCIETIES 
IN  SMALLER  CITIES 


By  Francis  H.  McLean 

FIELD   SECRETARY,   CHARITY   ORGANIZATION 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE 

FOUNDATION 


NEW  EDITION,   REVISED  AND 
ENLARGED 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  CHARITY   ORGANIZATION   DEPARTMENT 
OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

NEW  YORK 
I9IO 


THE  FORMATION  OF  CHARITY 

ORGANIZATION  SOCIETIES 

IN  SMALLER  CITIES 


BY  FRANCIS   H.  MCLEAN 
»» 

FIELD    SECRETARY,    CHARITY    ORGANIZATION 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE   RUSSELL  SAGE 

FOUNDATION 


NEW   EDITION,   REVISED   AND 
ENLARGED 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  CHARITY  ORGANIZATION   DEPARTMENT 
OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

NEW  YORK 
IQIO 


•?••••    • 


»      •  •    •      •  «     • 


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INTRODUCTION 

Twenty-two  new  charity  organization  societies  in  the  last  twenty 
months  have  been  added  to  the  movement  for  a  better  and  more  beneficent 
organization  of  social  service  work  in  this  country.  In  a  number  of 
cities,  however,  the  neglect  of  bad  social  conditions  persists,  combined,  in 
some  instances,  with  great  but  aimless  charitable  activity.  To  the  earnest 
and  thoughtful  in  these  places  this  pamphlet  is  addressed.  It  gives  them 
in  detail  the  beginnings  of  a  way  out,  provided  they  have  a  mind  to  work. 

In  the  year  1906,  when  he  was  Superintendent  of  the  Brooklyn 
Bureau  of  Charities,  Mr.  McLean  became  associated  with  a  small  com- 
mittee interested  in  charity  organization  extension  in  the  United  States, 
and  prepared  for  them  the  first,  much  shorter  draft  of  a  paper  on  the 
Formation  of  Charity  Organization  Societies  in  Smaller  Cities.  During 
the  twelve  months  following  its  publication,  he  devoted  the  spare  hours 
of  a  busy  executive  to  a  most  painstaking  correspondence  with  cities  seek- 
ing advice  about  the  organization  or  reorganization  of  their  local 
charitable  work. 

But  social  conditions  vary,  and  letters  at  their  best  are  a  poor  sub- 
stitute for  personal  contact.  The  committee  counted  itself  fortunate 
when,  in  the  autumn  of  1907,  it  was  enabled,  by  a  contribution  from  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  to  induce  Mr.  McLean  to  become  its  field 
secretary,  and  devote  his  whole  time  to  the  study  of  local  conditions  in 
city  after  city,  submitting  to  each  a  suggested  form  of  organization  or 
reorganization,  and  serving  each,  so  far  as  possible,  in  working  the  pro- 
posed plan  out.  No  visit  was  paid  without  an  invitation  from  those 
locally  interested,  but  many  invitations  were  forthcoming,  and  the  re- 
sults achieved  were  so  practical  and  far-reaching  that  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation  decided  a  year  ago  (October,  1909)  to  establish  a  Charity 
Organization  Department  devoted  to  extension  work  and  to  kindred 
endeavors. 


*  JL/wiO  ff  «l3 


And  now,  after  three  years  of  strenuous  work  in  the  field,  Mr. 
McLean  rewrites  and  enlarges  his  little  treatise,  and  packs  into  it  a  new 
wealth  of  practical  advice  and  illustration  which  bears  upon  the  various 
ways  of  launching  a  forward  movement  in  charity. 

This  Department  stands  ready  to  re-enforce  the  printed  word  by 
whatever  aid  is  at  its  command.  Readers  of  these  pages  are  urged  to 
correspond  with  or  to  visit  its  New  York  office,  and  to  secure  its  pub- 
lications or  forms.  No  one  (to  paraphrase  an  English  philanthropist) 
should  take  up  the  cause  of  charity  organization  without  being  prepared 
to  give  to  it  some  measure  of  devotion,  and  to  him  who  brings  this  devo- 
tion is  assured  the  sympathy  and  fellowship  of  public-spirited  groups,  in 
more  than  two  hundred  American  communities,  which  are  conducting 
societies  for  organizing  charity  and  are  always  eager  to  welcome  a  new 

comrade. 

Mary  E.  Richmond. 
New  York,   October,    1910. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  CHARITY 

ORGANIZATION  SOCIETIES 

IN  SMALLER  CITIES 


Note.— It  is  assumed  that  readers  of  the  practical  suggestions  which  follow  are  alrejfdy  familiar  with  the 
other  pamphlets  published  by  this  Department,  more  especially  with  those  which  explain  the  charity  organiza- 
tion movement  in  general  terms,  such  as  "  First  Principles  in  the  Relief  of  Distress,"  and  Alexander  Johnson's 
Organization  in  Smaller  Cities." 

I 

THE    CARDINAL   PRINCIPLES 

It  has  sometimes  been  stated  that  the "  form  of  organization  of  a 
society  has  nothing  to  do  with  its  success.  This  is  an  assertion  which 
is  not  borne  out  by  experience.  Organization  does  have  something 
to  do  with  success,  because  of  the  kinds  of  relationships  that  it  estab- 
lishes and  the  degree  of  speed  that  it  permits.  On  the  other  hand,  those 
who  do  make  this  assertion  are  less  wrong  than  those  who  imagine 
that  everything  depends  upon  the  form  of  organization.  For  instance, 
the  formation  of  a  charity  organization  society  in  either  a  large  or 
a  small  city  must  involve  points  of  structure,  formal  grouping,  etc., 
but  back  of  all  this  there  must  be  the  vital  interesting  of  the  right 
people  in  the  project. 

There  is  a  difference  between  intellectual  sympathy  and  determina- 
tion based  upon  conviction;  this  latter  is  not  aroused  by  the  impulse 
of  the  moment,  as  has  been  illustrated  again  and  again  in  the  ex- 
perience of  charity  organization  societies  in  this  country.  The  writer 
recalls  an  instance  where  all  appeared  to  favor  the  formation  of  an 
associated  charities.*  Excellent  co-operation  was  promised, .  and  every- 
one seemed  to  take  his  appointed  place  in  the  scheme;  it  seemed  to  be 
a  well-nigh  perfect  example  of  organization.  Nevertheless,  the  so- 
ciety never  did  anything.  What  was  the  trouble?  Simply  that  the 
ideas  and  ends  of  the  work  had  not  sunk  into  people's  minds.  Upon 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment,  they  had  concluded  that  they  wanted 

*  The  terms  "charity  organization  society"  and  "associated  charities"  are  used  interchangeably 
throughout  this  pamphlet;  some  cities  use  one  name  and  some  the  other.  In  a  few  places,  the  other  organiza- 
tions are  literally  "associated,"  but,  in  the  prevailing  type  of  society,  the  other  charitable  agencies  are  not, 
though  they  are  usually  well  represented  upon  its  tut)erculosis,  case,  and  other  special  committees,  or  upon 
the  central  council,  the  structure  of  which  is  herein  defined  (p.  28). 


something  of  a  chanty  organization  sort,  and  had  gone  ahead  heed- 
lessly, without  waiting  to  arouse  determination  and  conviction.  It  is 
possible,  of  course,  to  use  these  words  in  a  perfunctory  way,  but,  for 
the  success  of  a  movement  such  as  this,  they  must  imply  willingness 
to  make  sacrifices,  especially  sacrifices  of  time.  This  does  not  mean 
that  all  of  those  interested  have  to  be  equally  involved,  but  that 
those  who  are  to  be  leaders,  and  are  sufficiently  strong  to  be  leaders, 
are  finally  committed. 

START   ON   A   SUFFICIENTLY   LARGE    BASIS 

Three  years  of  field-work  experience  in  starting  new  charity  organ- 
ization societies  has  demonstrated  almost  uniformly  that  cities  of  over 
20,OCX)  should,  from  the  beginning,  plan  to  start  with  a  paid  trained 
worker  upon  full  time.  The  assumption  is  against  any  city  which 
considers  itself  an  exception  to  this  rule.  The  trouble  with  the  charity 
organization  movement  in  the  past  has  been  that  some  societies  have 
started  on  too  modest  a  basis,  without  a  paid  trained  worker,  and  have 
never  been  able  to  grow  at  all.  The  fact  that  it  is  difficult  to  secure 
the  necessary  support  means  that  the  time  has  not  yet  come  to  start. 
For  smaller  cities,  various  suggestions  will  be  found  under  the  Smaller 
City  Problem  (see  page  23). 

BUSINESS    AND    PROFESSIONAL    MEN    MUST    BE    INTERESTED 

That  the  business  community  must  be  interested  before  organiza- 
tion can  start  with  any  success  is  strongly  emphasized  in  the  following 
pages.  The  statement  should  have  its  place  here,  however,  as  a  cardinal 
principle.  As  long  as  social  work  is  left  to  women  and  ministers,  so 
long  will  it  not  be  seriously  regarded  by  the  men  themselves.  They 
may  scatter  around  compliments  to  the  women,  and  claim  to  know  how 
good  the  work  is,  etc.,  but  they  are  not  influenced  in  the  slightest  degree 
by  it.  Some  genuine  feeling  of  responsibility  must  be  aroused  in  them 
before  the  society  can  be  successfully  launched.  The  writer  recalls  a 
small  Western  city  where  for  several  years  an  organization  struggled 
along  with  a  number  of  prominent  business  men  permitting  themselves 
the  extravagance  of  giving  it  fifty  cents  a  month.  With  the  re-organiza- 
tion, In  which  the  board  of  trade  was  involved,  these  same  men  were 
afterwards  giving  anywhere  from  $25  to  $100  a  year.  This  financial 
argument  is  only  one  and  not  the  best  for  securing  the  business  men's 
interest.  A  board  of  directors  composed  solely  of  women  cannot  appeal 
with  the  same  force  to  a  city  administration,  or  a  city  official. 

2 


HAVE   BROAD   PRINCIPLES    OF   WORK 

The  primary  work  of  a  charity  organization  society  has  to  do  with 
the  problems  of  individual  families.  This  inevitably  brings  societies 
which  are  really  striving  to  rehabilitate  families  face  to  face  with  the 
need  of  urging  sanitary,  civic  and  social  reforms.  As  is  indicated  below, 
it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  warn  new  societies  not  rashly  to  project 
themselves  into  this  field.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  during  the  first  two 
years,  a  society  would  do  well  adequately  to  develop  its  family  work. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  ready  at  any  time  either  to  fight  itself, 
or  to  get  others  to  fight,  against  conditions  which  are  responsible  for 
the  destitution  of  families  and  over  which  the  families  themselves  have 
no  control.  In  other  words,  the  society  must  be  a  distinctly  opportunist 
organization,  ready  to  lend  its  hand  to  any  movement  which  means  the 
improvement  of  living  conditions.  It  must  be  untrammeled  by  any 
rules  or  traditions  which  prevent  it  from  taking  up  different  problems 
at  different  times. 

THE    ELEMENT    OF    TIME    IN    PROPAGANDA 

In  addition  to  a  few  of  the  right  people  with  strong  convictions, 
there  must  be  a  considerable  number  more  or  less  vitally  interested. 
For  this  reason,  it  is  essential  that  there  should  be  a  period  of  prop- 
aganda, and  that  time  should  be  given  for  the  idea  of  such  an  organi- 
zation really  to  become  familiar  to  a  large  number  of  representative 
people.  It  is  well  to  go  slowly  in  the  propaganda  period.  Some  of  the 
details  of  this  period  are  described  below,  but  it  cannot  be  over-em- 
phasized that,  excepting  under  the  most  unusual  circumstances,  this  stage 
requires  time  if  the  movement  is  to  take  root.  In  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  of  cities,  with  a  population  of  80,000,  the  propaganda  period 
took  a  year.  In  another  city  of  35,000  it  spread  over  a  period  of  six 
months.  Whenever,  as  a  result  of  formal  meeting,  a  definite  organiza- 
tion has  been  formed,  contributions  are  being  received  and  a  general 
secretary  is  being  canvassed  for,  this  preliminary  period  may  be  said 
definitely  to  cease. 

The  cardinal  principles  of  advance  which  are  given  above,  should 
encourage  rather  than  discourage  the  solitary  man  or  woman  here  and 
there,  or  the  isolated  group  of  two  or  three  people  who  feel  the  need 
of  organization  and  yet  are  encompassed  by  an  indifferent  community. 
Some  of  the  most  wonderful  results  have  come  from  the  efforts  of  a 
single  man  or  woman,  or  of  a  small  group.    It  is  not  a  matter  of  getting 

3 


a  number  of  people  excited  in  a  week's  time,  holding  a  meeting  and  re- 
solving to  go  ahead;  it  is  rather  the  slow  education  of  a  person  here 
and  there  until  the  time  comes  when  an  organizing  committee  can 
be  appointed.  It  can  be  said,  as  a  result  of  observation  and  experience, 
that  the  chances  for  success  depend  not  upon  the  presence  or  absence  of 
spontaneity,  but  upon  the  effectiveness  of  the  preliminary  work;  and 
again,  in  this  preliminary  work,  there  should  be  emphasized  the  value 
of  the  time  element.  (See  also,  on  this  subject,  the  Delayed  Move- 
ment, page  15.) 

II 
THE   BEGINNINGS 

WHAT  MAY  START  THE  MOVEMENT 

We  shall  leave  at  this  point  the  isolated  individuals  or  small  groups 
just  alluded  to.  They  may  consume  months  and  possibly  years  in  tak- 
ing advantage  of  this  or  that  opportunity  to  drum  ideas  into  the  heads 
of  others;  but  eventually  they  will  come  to  the  point  where,  in  one  or 
another  of  the  ways  indicated  below,  they  will  have  enlisted  some  force 
under  their  banner.  Let  us  consider  here  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  move- 
ments more  or  less  spontaneous  in  their  beginning. 

The  first  definite  impetus  towards  organization  may  come  in  any 
one  of  a  variety  of  ways.  For  instance,  a  group  of  clergymen  may 
decide  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  some  organization  for  investigation 
and  registration,  two  of  the  primary  charity  organization  activities.  Or 
it  may  come  as  a  result  of  the  exchange  of  experience  between  several 
charity  workers,  whether  paid  or  volunteer.  Or  It  may  come  as  the 
result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  philanthropic  committee  of  a  woman's 
club  which  has  been  studying  conditions  in  a  city  and  believes  that  there 
is  need  of  co-ordinating  the  social  agencies  for  family  treatment.  Or 
the  demand  may  come  from  the  business  community  and  as  a  result  of 
business  men's  being  harassed  by  the  appeals  of  beggars.  It  may  come  as 
the  result  of  some  tuberculosis  committee's  discovering  that  there  are 
problems  other  than  its  own  as  yet  unsolved.  Thus  one  of  the  strongest 
of  the  smaller  societies  established  in  1909  was  the  result  of  a  conference 
organized  just  after  the  National  Tuberculosis  Exhibition  had  been 
held  in  that  particular  city.  This  conference  studied  the  situation  for 
two  years  and  then  fought  for  and  won  an  associated  charities. 


COMMITTEE  ON   ORGANIZATION 

From  whatever  direction  the  movement  starts,  it  is  generally  ad- 
visable that  there  should  be  created  as  soon  as  possible  a  steering,  work- 
ing, or  organizing  committee  of  seven  or  more.  If  this  committee  can 
be  appointed  as  the  result  of  the  deliberation  of  a  conference  in  which 
all  of  the  three  interests  above  indicated  (namely,  the  business  men, 
the  women's  clubs,  and  the  churches  and  charities)  are  represented,  it 
is  a  desirable  end  to  be  obtained.  But  the  interest  of  the  other  factors 
may  not  be  secured  at  this  early  stage,  in  which  case  the  meeting  of 
ministers,  or  woman's  club,  or  board  of  trade,  as  the  case  may  be, 
should  itself  appoint  such  a  committee,  to  be  added  to  from  time  to  time. 
This  committee  should  not,  of  course,  be  representative  solely  of  the 
special*  interest  which  created  it.  It  should  include  one  or  two  profes- 
sional or  business  men,  one  or  two  women  well  known  and  already  con- 
nected with  philanthropic  or  social  work,  and  one  or  two  clergymen. 

INTERVIEW   OTHER   CHARITABLE    SOCIETIES 

If  the  proposition  for  a  society  has  come  from  charity  workers 
rather  than  from  some  general  social  agency  like  the  woman's  club,  or 
from  a  business  men's  organization,  it  is  much  more  necessary  for  this 
committee  to  make  a  most  careful  canvass  of  the  charity  field  itself  in  try- 
ing to  find  the  unconvinced.  This  is  because,  if  the  movement  is  started 
from  the  charitable  side,  people  will  expect  to  see  a  far  greater  degree 
of  unanimity  among  the  different  charitable  societies  of  the  city  with 
regard  to  it.  If,  however,  the  demand  has  come  from  another  direction, 
then  it  is  not  so  essential  that  a  fair  degree  of  unanimity  be  reached 
before  definite  steps  are  taken.  Under  no  circumstances  is  it  absolutely 
necessary,  because  a  few  societies  oppose  organization,  to  delay  the 
carrying  out  of  plans.  It  may  be  said  that  the  degree  of  thoroughness 
with  which  there  has  been  a  canvass  made  of  charitable  organizations, 
and  the  degree  of  thoroughness  with  which  the  majority  of  them  have 
been  lined  up  for  any  such  plan,  varies  considerably.  But  wherever 
possible,  it  is  desirable  to  make  this  canvass  in  the  way  herein  indicated. 
Local  conditions  will  show  where  the  canvass  must  be  most  thorough 
and  where  it  may  be  more  superficial. 

TRY  TO   FIND  THE   UNCONVINCED 

The  committee  should  very  carefully  canvass  the  field  to  learn  if 
among  the  clergymen  or  the  workers  or  executive  officers  of  any  so- 


cieties  doing  outdoor  relief  work  of  any  kind,  there  is  any  opposition  to 
the  plan.  At  this  point  it  is  well  if  the  committee  enlarges  the  horizon 
a  little  by  indicating  that  centralized  registration  and  investigation 
means  the  presence  of  a  paid  officer  and  the  existence  of  a  permanent 
office ;  and  that  practical  co-operation  in  the  way  of  securing  employment 
and  of  discussing  the  treatment  of  families  with  others,  is  thus  made 
posssible.  But  do  not  divell  at  this  time  upon  the  need  for  adequate 
treatment.  It  will  only  confuse  and  bemuddle  the  issue.  There  must 
be  slow  growth. 

The  committee  should  also  heed  the  suggestions  contained  in  a 
later  portion  of  this  circular  entitled  Co-operation  with  Highly  Or- 
ganized Religious  Charities  (see  page  41).  Among  outdoor  relief 
agencies  should  of  course  be  included  societies  such  as  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A,,  or  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  or  Salvation  Army,  or  W.  C.  T.  U.,  whose  work  is 
primarily  religious  but  who  have  felt  obliged  to  do  a  little  special  relief 
work  or  maintain  employment  agencies,  etc.,  also  day  nurseries,  kinder- 
gartens and  other  societies  dealing  with  children;  also  public  relief 
officers  and  the  judges  of  courts  before  whom  come  youthful  delinquents 
or  dependents.  To  these  last  two  classes  the  existence  of  a  society  and 
an  agent  upon  whom  they  can  call  at  any  time  to  make  investigations 
or  reports  or  to  assume  charge  of  families,  will  appeal  with  particular 
force.  Local  conditions  must  be  considered  to  determine  whether  it  is 
advisable  also  to  seek  the  support  of  the  leading  public  officials,  of  the 
mayor,  of  the  councilmen  or  aldermen,  etc. 

It  is  desirable  but  not  necessary  that  the  directors  and  officials  of 
institutions,  including  hospitals,  should  be  visited.  Of  course  the  so- 
ciety will  have  more  or  less  to  do  with  such  institutions  and  co-opera- 
tion with  them  must  be  developed.  It  is  a  question,  however,  whether 
such  co-operation  cannot  better  be  secured  after  the  organization  is  in 
working  shape  than  before.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  spend  too  much 
time  in  this  part  of  the  field  in  the  preliminary  work.  If  they  are 
approached  at  all  it  should  be  mainly  on  the  side  of  the  advantages 
which  will  accrue  to  them  through  efficient  investigations  of  inmates 
or  applicants  for  free  care. 

FORMAL  ENDORSEMENT  OF  SOCIAL  AGENCIES 

At  the  most,  not  more  than  a  month  should  be  given  by  our  com- 
mittee of  seven  to  this  work.  The  members  of  the  committee  should 
divide  up  the  names  of  people  to  be  seen  and,  in  every  case,  a  personal 
interview  should  be  arranged  for.     This  is  not  so  stupendous  a  job  as 

6 


might  appear,  because  the  same  men  and  women  will  be  on  many  dif- 
ferent boards.  It  Is  necessary  to  speak  only  to  the  leading  spirits,  to 
the  persons  who  really  direct  the  work.  In  some  Instances  It  has  been 
thought  desirable  to  have  the  formal  endorsement  of  the  charitable  so- 
cieties before  the  endorsement  of  the  community  at  large  in  a  public 
meeting.  Whether  this  Is  necessary  or  not  depends,  as  we  have  In- 
dicated, on  local  conditions.  If  some  opposition  has  developed  among 
the  charitable  agencies  themselves,  it  may  be  wise  to  have  a  display  of 
strength.  If  the  business  men  do  not  grasp  the  new  Idea  easily,  and 
Imagine  that  it  Is  only  adding  to  their  burdens,  then  here  also  it  may 
be  desirable  to  have  formal  endorsement  by  the  charitable  agencies.  In 
this  case  the  meeting  should  be  composed  primarily  of  the  clergy,  repre- 
sentatives of  societies  and  public  officials. 

Arrange  beforehand  to  have  from  five  to  eight  persons,  who  are 
known  to  have  weight,  to  be  favorable  to  the  plan  and  to  be  ready 
speakers,  prepared  to  participate  in  the  discussion  of  the  single  resolu- 
tion which  should  be  considered  at  this  meeting.  This  resolution  should 
read  that  it  Is  the  sense  of  this  meeting,  composed  as  it  Is  of  delegates 
from  various  societies,  etc.,  that  an  associated  charities  or  charity  organ- 
ization society  should  be  formed. 

This  meeting,  It  w^Ill  be  understood,  Is  simply  a  preliminary  one, 
only  required  when  it  seems  wise  to  secure  the  formal  approval  of  a  group 
of  charities  or  social  agencies. 

PLANNING  FOR  A  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS 

The  most  important  duties  of  our  organizing  committee  are  to  in- 
terest the  community  at  large  and  to  secure  in  advance  the  consent  of 
some  twenty  citizens,  men  and  women,  to  serve  on  the  board  of  directors. 
While  heretofore  emphasis  has  been  laid  upon  centralized  registration 
and  investigation  and  practical  co-operation  between  charitable  societies, 
in  this  later  canvass  for  directors,  all  the  different  angles  of  organized 
charity  work  should  be  used.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  you  are 
now  preparing  to  struggle  particularly  for  the  support  of  men,  prominent 
In  business  and  professional  life.  Some  of  these  may  be  genuinely  in- 
terested in  philanthropy,  others  not  at  all ;  some  will  believe  that  poverty 
has  been  too  gently  handled,  others  that  there  has  been  no  charity,  still 
others  that  "justice  not  charity"  Is  required.  Therefore,  to  some  the 
scheme  of  registration  and  Investigation  will  particularly  appeal,  to  others 
the  principle  of  adequate  relief,  to  others  the  promise  of  eventual  pre- 
ventive philanthropy. 

7 


It  becomes  necessary  to  study  the  best  method  of  approach  for  each 
man;  to  see  just  what  suggestions  thrown  out  are  grasped  by  each  one 
in  turn.  It  is  fatal  at  this  stage  to  present  the  same  argument  to  one 
man  after  another;  the  emphasis  must  be  varied.  It  Is  impossible  to 
offer  any  definite  rules,  of  course.  But  above  all  else  do  not  fall  into 
the  error  of  imagining  that  to  all  business  men  the  systematization  of 
charity  work  will  commend  Itself.  Many  business  men  view  charity 
from  a  remarkably  sentimental  point  of  view  and  must  be  approached 
from  that  side.  'Watch  your  Man"  should  be  the  motto.  Charity 
organization  work  Is  so  catholic  and  many-sided  that  upon  mere  points 
of  emphasis  may  depend  support  or  non-support. 

Another  valuable  point  to  be  borne  In  mind  is  one  which  is  em- 
phasized by  salesmen  and  those  who  must  explain  business  propositions; 
and  that  is,  not  to  attempt  to  force  a  decision  if  there  Is  any  hope  of 
winning  out  by  a  slower  process.  In  other  words,  if  a  man  does  not 
respond  and  then  is  forced  to  answer  right  away,  he  will  answer  in 
the  negative.  When  a  man  once  takes  that  position  It  is  very  difficult 
to  change  the  decision.  On  the  other  hand,  if  there  is  any  hope  of  a 
favorable  outcome,  and  as  yet  your  prey  is  not  won  over,  it  is  more 
desirable  to  close  the  first  interview  leaving  the  thing  in  the  air  than  to 
force  him  into  a  negative  stand,  because  he  Is  not  fully  convinced.  Do 
not  draw  out  a  negative  answer,  In  other  words,  unless  you  are  pretty 
sure  that  It  Is  coming  anyway. 

PLEDGES   OF   FINANCIAL   SUPPORT 

It  is  advisable  that  at  this  time  there  should  be  obtained  at  least  a 
few  promises  of  fair-sized  contributions  either  from  those  consenting  to 
serve  on  the  board  or  from  others. 

This  presupposes  the  preparation  of  an  estimate  for  the  first  year's 
expenses.  In  making  such  provisional  budget,  the  difficult  items  to  be 
decided  upon  are  the  salary  or  salaries  and  the  printing.  The  other 
charges  will  be  more  or  less  fixed.  A  little  later  an  attempt  will  be  made 
to  present  the  itemized  expenses  of  one  or  two  smaller  societies.  But 
make  the  salary  of  the  secretary  as  large  as  you  can,  and  the  printing 
allowance  as  large  as  you  can ;  this  will  pay  you  in  the  end.  Also  note 
later  remarks  under  the  heading  Budgets  and  the  Question  of  the 
General  Secretary  (see  page  45).  Speaking  broadly,  for  a  proposed 
society  expecting  to  expend  between  $800  to  $1200  a  year,  pledges 
to  the  amount  of  $100  or  $50  ought  to  be  secured  at  this  time; 
for  societies  with  a  budget  between  $1200  and  $2000,  $250;  for 
societies  hoping  to  obtain  between  $2000  and  $4000,  $400. 


SELECTION  OF  BUSINESS  AND  PROFESSIONAL  MEMBERS 

The  list  of  the  proposed  board  of  directors  should  contain  the 
names  of  at  least  ten  strong  business  or  professional  men.  Search  for 
the  biggest,  fairest  and  most  open-minded  in  this  class.  By  biggest  one 
does  not  necessarily  mean  the  most  successful  financially.  You  should 
not  choose  the  absolutely  unsuccessful  man,  of  course,  no  matter  how- 
broad-minded  he  may  be;  but  search  for  some  broad-mindedness  com- 
bined with  force,  as  indicated  by  at  least  fair  success.  Such  men  will 
often  have  to  be  convinced  that  the  thing  is  really  worth  their  while, 
and  that  they  are  actually  needed.  However,  when  once  you  have  per- 
suaded a  man  of  this  sort  that  there  is  really  something  more  to  charity 
than  "sewing  circles"  and  that  it  demands  a  man's  strength  as  well  as 
a  woman's  tact  and  sympathy,  you  have  won  him,  and  for  his  lifetime, 
if  you  do  not  allow  your  work  to  degenerate.  Naturally  you  will  have 
most  difficulty  with  the  business  men.  You  will  more  easily  secure  the 
consent  of  lawyers  and  physicians,  for  they  may  be  appealed  to  on  the 
score  of  the  need  of  the  professional  services  which  they  can  render;  yet 
do  not  allow  the  professional  men  to  predominate.  If  you  try  for  ten  or 
twelve  men,  at  least  six  of  them  should  be  business  men.  You  will  have 
your  hardest  work  here,  but  do  not  go  ahead  handicapped  by  too  small 
a  representation  of  those  engaged  in  commercial  and  industrial  pursuits. 

It  is  well  to  consider,  also,  w^hether  a  few  promising  young  men 
— coming  men — should  not  be  on  your  list. 

Since  the  preceding  paragraphs  were  first  written  three  years  ago, 
the  field  workers  of  this  department  have  maintained  the  insistence  upon 
a  membership  of  men  everywhere.  This  has  been  fought  out  even  in 
cities  where  the  men  have  not  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  any  social 
work;  it  has  become  a  simple  axiom  of  the  field  work,  and  the  writer 
refuses  to  believe  that  there  is  any  place  where,  w^ith  due  effort,  there 
cannot  be  secured  the  right  sort  of  men,  though  it  may  take  a  longer 
time  in  some  cities  than  in  others. 

Then,  again,  the  intelligent  program  of  the  charity  organization 
movement  is  appealing  more  and  more  to  men  of  broad  caliber,  who  want 
to  be  in  touch  with  a  society  which  bases  its  conclusions  upon  hard 
facts  and  whose  program  of  work  is  sufficiently  complicated  and  broad 
to  tax  the  intellect  of  the  best  business  men  of  the  country.  Upon  re- 
quest, this  Department  will  send  the  names  of  influential  men  who  are 
actively  connected  with  the  work  in  different  cities. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  FIGURE-HEADS 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  who  else  should  be  asked  to  serve,  a 
word  is  necessary  regarding  the  conditions  under  which  business  and 
professional  men  should  be  asked  to  accept  places  on  the  board.  This 
brings  up  the  question  of  the  figure-head.  In  larger  centers  and  in  many 
smaller  ones,  too,  one  or  more  men  are  often  asked  to  go  on  the  board 
because  of  the  prestige  given  by  their  names,  but  with  no  expectation 
that  they  will  even  attend  the  meetings.  Oftentimes  most  conscientious 
committees,  who  dislike  anything  resembling  subterfuge,  feel  that  they 
are  obliged  to  make  this  concession.  It  is  not  possible  to  offer  any  ad- 
vice which  would  be  always  the  best  to  follow  regarding  this  practice. 
It  is  not  entirely  reprehensible,  certainly,  to  ask  some  very  old  man, 
universally  beloved  and  with  a  mind  still  open  to  accept  progressive  ideas, 
but  whose  health  is  bad,  to  allow  his  name  to  be  used  in  support  of  this 
new  movement.  But  is  it  not  safe  to  say  that  in  smaller  communities 
where  there  is  something  at  least  resembling  homogeneity,  there  is  less 
need  of  this  practice  than  in  larger  places?  Under  any  circumstances, 
not  more  than  one  or  two  figure-heads  should  be  selected.  This  also 
by  way  of  suggestion, — large  contributions  acknowledged  through  the 
press  from  men  and  women  of  high  standing,  but  unable  to  give  of  their 
time,  oftentimes  carry  as  much  weight  as  though  the  names  of  the  con- 
tributors were  carried  on  the  board  of  directors. 

MINIMUM  OF  SERVICE 

As  for  those  not  secured  as  figure-heads,  this  minimum  of  service 
should  be  requested: 

1.  For  all,  attendance  at  monthly  meetings  of  the  whole  board,  and 
a  readiness  to  advise  the  board  or  committees  of  the  board  between  meet- 
ings regarding  proposed  policies  to  be  followed  out. 

2.  For  professional  men,  opportunities  to  consult  and  make  use 
of  them  In  matters  where  their  professional  knowledge  will  be  of  service. 

3.  For  business  men,  their  co-operation  and  advice  In  developing 
financial  resources  and  also  opportunities  for  employment. 

4.  For  those  whom  you  have  in  mind  for  the  executive  committee 
(if  you  have  one),  which  should  meet  every  week  or  every  fortnight, 
the  service  will  be  somewhat  more  exacting.  This  committee,  which 
should  contain  five  or  seven  members,  will  have  direct  supervision  over 
the  work  of  the  society  and  its  agent.  It  should  contain  two  or  three  bus- 
iness or  professional  men. 

10 


REPRESENTATION   OF   CLERGYMEN 

Coming  to  the  question  of  the  representation  of  clergymen  on  the 
board,  it  will  be  well  carefully  to  consider  the  matter  and  to  talk  it 
over  with  some  of  the  more  progressive  among  the  clergy.  Many  so- 
cieties have  started  out  with  the  deliberate  policy  of  not  having  any 
ministers  on  their  general  boards  and  executive  committees,  though  of 
course  they  were  appointed  on  different  committees  of  the  society  later. 
But  in  the  smaller  communities,  where  spontaneous  movements  arise 
as  the  direct  result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  clergymen  themselves, 
it  often  happens  that  the  ministers  are  the  only  real  leaders  in  social 
work,  and  it  would  be  manifestly  hampering  the  work  to  deprive  it  of 
their  immediate  supervision.  There  are  factors  in  each  individual  situa- 
tion to  be  considered.  The  great  danger  in  the  presence  of  a  representa- 
tion of  clergy  on  the  central  board  is  that  the  business  and  professional 
men,  recognizing  their  leadership  in  matters  philanthropic,  will  placidly 
turn  everything  over  to  them  and  become  simply  silent  partners.  The 
ministers  themselves  should  consider  this  possibility  and,  under  some 
circumstances,  they  may  think  best  to  insist  upon  remaining  off.  The 
committee  on  organization,  however,  as  a  whole,  should  decide  the 
question  in  consultation  with  the  clergy.  It  should  not  permit  too  much 
strength  to  be  lost,  at  the  same  time  recognizing  fully  that  the  business 
and  professional  men  must  be  as  important  members  as  the  clergy.  The 
number  of  ministers  should  not  at  the  most  exceed  four  or  five  on  a 
board  of  twenty.  If  any  denomination  is  holding  aloof,  especial  en- 
deavors should  be  made  to  have  one  of  its  clergy  serve.  Any  minister 
who  has  come  into  contact  with  the  work  elsewhere  ought  to  go  on  the 
board.  There  should  be,  if  possible,  a  Catholic  priest  in  the  roster. 
There  is  one  other  danger  in  clerical  representation  which  is  generally 
absent  in  places  where  the  movement  is  a  spontaneous  one,  and  that  is 
in  running  into  denominational  jealousies  and  fights.  A  spontaneous 
movement  is  hardly  possible  in  a  place  where  the  churches  are  fighting 
among  themselves.  With  friendly  churches  and  a  fairly  united  clergy, 
the  selection  has  few  possibilities  for  embarrassment. 

REPRESENTATION    OF    WOMEN 

If  the  clergy  are  not  represented  on  the  central  board,  the  number 
of  business  and  professional  men  should  be  slightly  increased;  for  the 
representation  of  women,  which  we  will  now  consider,  should  not  com- 
prise more  than  one-third  of  the  total  membership.     In  the  selection  of 

11 


the  women,  embarrassment  will  often  arise  from  the  plethora  of  riches 
to  draw  from.  There  should  be  a  representation  of  women  already- 
connected  In  a  direct  way  with  denominational  charities,  as  well  as  of 
those  who  through  women's  clubs  and  similar  organizations  have  become 
interested  In  some  of  the  broader  aspects  of  philanthropy  and  social  re- 
form. More  often  than  not  women  will  be  found  who  have  both  of 
these  qualifications.  If  there  Is  some  woman,  well  off,  who  scorns 
women's  clubs  and  denominational  charities  alike,  who  glories  in  "in- 
dividual charity,"  it  may  be  worth  while  to  put  her  on  experimentally, 
if  she  can  be  persuaded.  But  It  is  not  wise  to  leave  off  some  valuable 
person  for  her.  Such  experiments  are  much  safer  after  the  society  has 
found  itself. 

OTHER   MEMBERS 

So  much  for  our  twenty  members.  If,  in  addition  to  these,  some 
labor  union  man,  some  skilled  mechanic,  can  be  persuaded  to  come  on,  he 
should  be  included  by  all  means.  But  this  is  often  found  to  be  an  im- 
possibility until  very  much  later.  It  may  be  best  also  to  request  the 
different  charitable  agencies,  referred  to  above,  to  send  official  delegates 
to  the  board,  in  addition  to  the  twenty.  As  ex  officio  members,  may  be 
included  If  deemed  best,  the  mayor,  the  health  officer,  the  judge  in 
charge  of  juvenile  cases,  the  head  of  the  building  department,  if  there 
is  any,  the  president  of  any  college  or  university,  and  the  superintendent 
of  schools.  The  ex  officio  members  need  not  be  active,  but  their  con- 
nection with  the  society  gives  Its  officials  a  right  to  seek  co-operation 
and  advice  from  them  at  any  time. 

THE  SOCIETY  MUST  REPRESENT  THE  COMMUNITY 

One  word  of  caution  inust  be  emphasized  and  re-emphasized.  There 
is  danger  that  the  taking  of  the  initiative  by  the  churches  or  charities  may 
limit  the  organization  largely  to  official  representatives  of  relief  agencies, 
may  form,  in  other  words,  an  associated  charities  in  its  narrower  sense. 
But  no  matter  what  the  organization  may  be  called,  it  should  be  repre- 
sentative, not  only  of  the  relief  agencies,  but  of  all  those  agencies  which 
work  towards  amelioration  in  any  way,  as  well  as  of  the  vast  mass  of 
men  and  women  who  have  no  direct  contact  with  organized  philanthropic 
work,  but  who  do  much  In  an  individual  way ;  In  short  the  society  should 
be  representative  of  the  community  as  a  whole.  Individual  philanthropy 
has  as  much  right  to  organization  as  the  oldest  relief  society. 

12 


DECIDING  ON  THE  OFFICIAL  LEADERS 

The  committee  on  organization  should,  before  taking  the  next  step, 
confer  with  the  twenty  who  have  agreed  to  serve,  among  whom  they  are 
probably  included  themselves,  as  to  the  presidency  and  the  chairmanship 
of  the  executive  committee,  which  may  be  held  by  the  same  person  or 
different  persons.  It  is  generally  preferable  that  both  of  these  positions 
be  assumed  by  business  or  professional  men.  Sometimes  the  choice  for 
one  or  the  other  seems  to  fall  naturally  to  a  clergyman.  Everybody 
suggests  him,  he  is  apparently  the  natural  leader.  Let  him  then  become 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  if  possible,  and  have  a  business  or 
professional  man  for  the  presidency.  Sometimes  a  strong  woman  may 
appear  to  be  the  natural  leader,  but  it  is  to  be  desired  that  men  should 
hold  the  two  offices,  even  if  this  is  the  case.  As  chairman  of  case  com- 
mittee, for  instance,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  board,  such  a  woman's 
guiding  influence  will  have  free  play,  while  at  the  same  time  the  men 
will  not  lose  their  sense  of  responsibility.  Women  themselves  are  gen- 
erally the  quickest  to  perceive  that  a  society  headed  by  a  woman  will  not 
have  quite  the  same  status  as  one  headed  by  a  man,  even  if  the  woman's 
ideas  and  views  are  the  ones  which  most  strongly  influence  the  society. 

Any  attempt  to  enumerate  the  personal  qualities  required  for  these 
two  positions, — of  president  and  chairman,— would  be  entirely  superflu- 
ous. As  a  good  combination,  a  man  of  quick  action  with  a  man  of  slow, 
cautious  action,  is  suggested.  Energy  and  definiteness  must  be  somewhere 
in  the  combination;  it  must  possess  conservatism  and  liberalism  alike, 
and  genuine  deep  interest  in  both  curative  and  preventive  philanthropy. 
If  there  are  two  officers  it  is  not  necessary  that  they  both  possess  all  these 
qualifications.  As  to  the  other  officers,  their  selection  may  be  made  now, 
or  later  by  the  board  when  organized,  as  seems  best.  Local  interests  and 
conditions  of  course  vary  too  much  to  attempt  to  make  any  suggestions 
of  value  regarding  them. 

THE  PUBLIC  MEETING 

As  a  final  step  before  actual  organization  and  incorporation,  a  pub- 
lic meeting  is  suggested,  advertised  generally  as  being  called  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  society  and  electing  directors  empowered  to  in- 
corporate. This  starts  the  movement  off  with  a  boom;  it  affords  an 
opportunity  for  making  an  appeal  for  funds  either  in  the  shape  of  mem- 
bership fees  or  contributions,  and  at  the  same  time  for  having  organized 
charity  described  by  some  practical  worker  in  the  field  elsewhere.    The 

13 


expenses  of  such  a  meeting,  including  the  traveling  expenses  of  the 
speaker,  should  be  made  up  by  the  committee,  with  the  understanding 
that  it  be  reimbursed  after  the  board  has  definitely  organized. 

A  word  of  caution  as  to  the  selection  of  the  chief  speaker.  Do  not 
ask  anyone  to  come  who  is  not  in  actual  touch  with  charity  organization 
work  in  all  its  phases,  and  who  does  not  know  its  latest  developments. 
Actual  touch  means  actual  touch.  Do  not  run  after  a  great  name  or  a 
facile  tongue ;  what  is  required  is  someone  who  is  a  practical  worker  and 
who  is  an  interesting  speaker;  not  necessarily  eloquent,  but  certainly 
interesting.  Ask  him  to  begin  his  address  by  giving  a  few  biographies 
of  families  he  has  known  himself  and  wherein  the  very  best  and  most 
intelligent  work  has  been  done.  Thus  when  he  comes  to  a  description 
of  principles,  he  may  verify  them  by  immediate  reference  to  this  or  that 
point  in  the  biographies.  Even  the  dry  subject  of  registration  becomes 
replete  with  human  interest  when  illustrated  in  this  way.  His  address 
should  be  largely  confined  to  curative  charity,  for  that  is  the  first  point 
of  attack.  A  young  society  will  find  its  active  work  during  the  first  few 
years  confined  almost  entirely  to  curative  work  (including  repression  of 
begging),  and  education  should  proceed  along  that  line.  With  such 
a  presentation  the  value  and  possibilities  of  curative  work  will  bulk 
larger  than  before  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  are  leading  the  movement  as 
well  as  those  who  are  simply  followers.  Note  how,  by  slow  degrees, 
the  movement  has  taken  on  new  meanings.  Originally,  the  primary  need 
of  investigation  and  registration;  now,  in  addition,  adequate  relief  and 
co-operation  and  insight  and  democracy  and  true  humanity  and  all  else 
which  is  a  part  of  the  wonderful  curative  work  which  is  being  done  by 
so  many  modest  field  workers  in  these  days.  The  speaker  should  describe 
something  of  the  preventive  work  being  done,  but  the  emphasis  should 
be  on  the  curative. 

At  the  end  of  his  address  should  follow  a  few  short  speeches,  and 
then  the  formal  adoption  of  the  resolution  electing  a  board  of  directors. 
Immediately  upon  its  adoption,  the  chairman  of  the  meeting  should 
direct  the  distribution  of  envelopes  for  the  receipt  of  membership  fees 
or  contributions,  or  pledges  for  the  same.  Too  much  must  not  be  ex- 
pected from  this  first  appeal.  From  fifty  to  one  hundred  pledges  or 
fees  or  contributions  is  an  unusually  good  harvest.* 


*  At  one  such  meeting  in  a  town  of  30,000,  a  good  collection  resulted  from  the  distribution  in  the  seats 
Of  attractive  cards,  to  each  one  of  which  had  been  attached,  by  a  cord,  a  small  pencil. 

14 


PREPARING  FOR  WORK 

The  board  of  directors  so  elected  should  as  soon  as  possible  meet 
and  organize.  Officers  should  be  elected  and  articles  of  incorporation 
made  out. 

Before  going  on  to  describe  the  steps  from  this  point  it  will  be  best 
to  describe  in  what  particulars  a  movement  that  is  not  spontaneous  will 
differ  from  one  that  is.  After  final  organization  the  two  kinds  of  move- 
ments have  essentially  the  same  problems  to  deal  with  and  may  be  con- 
sidered together. 

Ill 
THE   DELAYED    MOVEMENT 

INERTIA   OR   OPPOSING   INFLUENCES 

We  have  been  considering  movements  fairly  spontaneous  in  char- 
acter, which  only  require  right  direction  and  organization.  The  other 
kinds  of  movements  must  now  be  considered, — the  kinds  which  do  not 
start  of  themselves  but  have  to  be  developed  like  hothouse  plants.  It 
is  in  cities  which  possess  rather  well-established  and  influential  relief 
agencies,  denominational  and  otherwise,  or  which,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  in  a  very  rudimentary  period  without  any  particular  agencies  or  in- 
terested churches,  that  the  nurturing  is  generally  necessary.  Thus  the 
two  extremes  meet. 

It  takes  only  a  few  determined  persons,  oftentimes,  to  bring  about 
the  change.  When  once  a  few  earnest  people  are  infected  with  the  bacilli 
of  organized  charity,  it  Is  advisable  that  the  wh*ole  subject  be  presented 
as  part  of  the  regular  programme  of  some  organization,  preferably  one 
composed  partly  at  least  of  men.  As  a  matter  of  fact  this  is  seldom  pos- 
sible, and  a  woman's  club  or  something  resembling  it  affords  the  op- 
portunity. Some  speaker  from  another  city  should  be  invited.  He  or  she 
should  be  selected  from  among  those  who  have  considerable  renown  and 
possibly  eloquence,  who  have  some  general  knowledge  of  charity  organ- 
ization work  and  who  are  keenly  sympathetic  towards  it. 

THE  CITY  WITH  PRIMITIVE  CONDITIONS 

If  the  city  is  one  in  which  there  are  no  particular  relief  agencies  and 
the  churches  themselves  do  little, — in  other  words  a  community  In  which 
indifference  has  to  be  contended  with, — such  a  speaker  should  have  a 
wide  sweep.     He  should  be  asked   to  show  very  distinctly  that  the 

15 


way  to  grapple  with  social  problems  is  to  attack  them  in  their  infancy. 
If  possible,  he  should  be  particularly  instructed  as  to  certain  local  prob- 
lems, specific  ones  if  need  be,  of  neglect  or  mistaken  kindness  in  dealing 
with  individual  families.  He  should  be  especially  cautioned  against  mak- 
ing his  address  merely  a  description  of  the  complex  charity  of  a  great 
city,  charity  absurdly  ill-proportioned  to  the  smaller  city,  but  he  should 
draw  from  the  great  city's  experience  those  lessons  which  may  have  local 
application.  He  must,  above  all  else,  realize  that  the  curative  work  must 
be  developed  first  of  all  and  he  must  lay  emphasis  on  true  curative  work, 
not  the  slap-dash  article  which  sometimes  masquerades  under  that  name. 
If  he  soars  into  the  clouds  and  talks  a  decade  ahead  of  the  community, 
he  may  leave  a  "lasting  impression  on  the  minds  of  his  hearers"  but  that 
is  about  all.  Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  impressing  upon  a 
speaker,  who  knows  many  sides  of  philanthropic  work,  that  what  is  most 
needed  at  this  time  is  a  talk  on  the  primary  charity  organization  work. 

In  an  informal  way,  a  committee  of  considerable  size,  say  ten  to 
fifteen,  including  all  the  ministers,  the  local  editor,  the  school  principal, 
besides  business  men  and  women,  should  be  gathered  together  by  the 
little  nucleus  before  mentioned.  It  will  take  time  and  patience  to  secure 
this  number,  but  it  appears  to  be  safer  in  an  indifferent  community  with 
no  particular  charitable  activities,  to  make  a  rather  imposing  show  of 
strength  as  soon  as  possible.  This  committee  should  be  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  the  consent  of  twenty  reputable  citizens  to  serve 
on  a  board  of  directors  who  are  to  incorporate  a  society.  In  the  main, 
the  plan  of  campaign  follows  closely  that  suggested  for  the  leaders  in  a 
spontaneous  movement,  excepting  that  only  one  public  meeting  may  be 
required.  Also  it  may  or  it  may  not  be  wise  to  have  the  final  public 
meeting  addressed  by  a  worker  from  another  city.  In  a  city  with  noth- 
ing resembling  systematic  charity  work,  the  need  of  some  sort  of  society 
will  be  pretty  generally  acknowledged,  and  there  will  be  no  necessity, 
as  there  is  in  other  places,  of  showing  why  a  number  of  relief  agencies 
requires  a  central  society  in  order  to  do  adequate  work.  As  was  said 
before,  indifference  is  the  principal  difficulty  here;  no  one  can  safely 
advance  the  argument  that  the  new  society  is  only  a  duplication  of  existing 
organizations.  The  most  active  sort  of  propaganda  may  be  necessary 
nevertheless — much  more  active  indeed  than  in  the  case  of  the  spontaneous 
movement.  There  the  principal  care  is  to  start  the  ship  with  the  proper 
officers  in  charge;  at  the  last,  indeed,  having  a  grand  public  launching 
as  a  sort  of  climax.  Here  the  difficulty  in  the  first  place  is  to  have  the 
ship  built  properly.     There  must  be  a  constant  pounding  of  the  con- 

16 


science  of  the  public,  through  the  press,  from  the  pulpits,  and  in  other 
ways  which  are  possible  and  which  will  vary  for  each  locality.  The 
arguments  for  organization  will  also  vary  somewhat  from  those  of  the 
spontaneous  movement.  In  the  latter,  centralized  registration  and  in- 
vestigation hold  the  stage  at  the  start.  In  the  uncultivated,  neglected 
field  the  whole  question  of  charity  needs  may  be  taken  up.  The  need 
of  something  resembling  system  in  order  to  deal  with  a  show  of  fairness 
or  decency  with  those  who  are  "down  and  out"  for  the  time  being,  may 
be  preached  broadly.  In  other  words,  questions  of  diplomacy,  which  are 
involved  in  the  spontaneous  movement  as  well  as  in  the  kind  to  be  de- 
scribed later,  are  not  so  prominent  here.  There  are  no  jealousies  to 
allay,  no  people's  feelings  to  be  hurt,  only  as  loud  and  prolonged  blasts 
as  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  arouse  the  community  out  of  its  lethargy. 

THE   CITY   WITH    LONG-ESTABLISHED   RELIEF   AGENCIES 

We  have  now  come  to  the  third  form  of  movement.  In  some  of 
the  smaller  cities  there  exist  certain  agencies  dispensing  material  relief 
in  various  ways,  whose  officers  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  condition 
of  things.  The  need  of  a  co-operative  center  for  exchange  of  records  and 
of  experiences  Is  not  at  all  realized  by  the  good  people  most  Intimately 
connected  with  these  societies.  They  resent  any  imputations  that  they 
are  not  adequately  filling  the  field  or  that  an  organizing  society  of  any 
sort  is  required.  These  societies  naturally  have  a  large  clientele  of  sub- 
scribers who  are  apt  to  take  their  opinions  of  charity  needs  from  them. 
Yet  it  is  in  centers  such  as  these  that  there  exists  the  greatest  need  for  a 
co-operative  organization. 

AN    OBJECT    LESSON 

The  writer  proposes  at  this  point  to  describe  just  how  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  society  was  effected  In  a  certain  city  where  the  opposition  to 
It  from  charity  circles  was  considerable.  This  Is  by  way  of  suggestion 
only,  for  of  course  it  would  be  fruitless  to  attempt  to  prepare  any  data 
of  general  application,  when  the  conditions  in  each  case  vary  so  much. 

A  certain  woman's  organization,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  its  pro- 
gram, considered  the  question  of  just  what  were  the  social  needs  of 
the  city.  The  subject  was  considered  In  a  broad  way.  There  were  many 
things  really  needed, — an  adequate  children's  aid  society,  tenement  house 
regulations,  model  tenements,  etc.  Children's  work  first  appealed  to 
them.  They  had  one  or  two  speakers  on  this  subject,  and  indeed  even 
went  to  the  extent  of  preparing  articles  of  incorporation.     Yet  slowly 

17 


among  the  members  of  the  club  there  grew  the  feeling  that  the  primary 
need  was  the  need  of  an  organizing  society,  a  more  pressing  need  indeed 
than  the  children's  society,  which  could  come  later.  There  were  societies 
of  various  sorts;  but  their  work  was  indiscriminate  and  incomplete. 
There  was  also  a  vast  deal  of  private  individual  relief  work  absolutely 
without  any  co-operating  center.  Having  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  the 
women  very  wisely  moved  slowly.  They  did  not  attempt  anything  on 
their  own  initiative,  ostensibly.  But  they  began  to  talk  about  the  social 
needs  of  the  city  and  some  men  of  larger  views  became  interested  in  the 
subject.  These  men  came  partly  from  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  and  partly 
from  the  ranks  of  laymen  already  interested  in  philanthropic  work.  By 
and  by,  the  idea  of  a  conference  was  gradually  injected  into  these  con- 
versations. The  need  of  an  organizing  society  was  touched  upon  but 
was  not  urged  too  strongly;  at  the  same  time  the  women  were  quietly 
gathering  together  facts  regarding  the  duplication  of  relief  and  fraudu- 
lent begging.  They  investigated  several  cases  themselves  and  followed 
the  thing  right  to  the  end. 

A  conference  was  finally  called  by  members  of  the  clergy  and  by  lay- 
men interested  in  charitable  societies.  The  object  of  the  conference  was 
stated  to  be  the  consideration  of  plans  for  "the  betterment  of  the  condition 
of  the  poorer  classes  of  the  city."  At  the  first  meeting  most,  of  those 
present  were  of  the  clergy.  Such  broad  questions  as  tenement  house  con- 
ditions, the  reasons  for  the  heavy  death  rate,  etc.,  were  considered.  A 
central  labor  bureau  was  also  suggested.  Of  course,  out  of  such  a  dis- 
cussion could  not  be  kept  the  subject  of  charity  organization.  Yet  no  one 
had  anything  to  say  in  favor  of  a  new  society;  some  vague  form  of 
unification  was  recommended  but  that  was  all. 

A  committee  was  organized  to  draw  up  a  plan  of  work.  Eleven 
days  after  the  first  meeting  came  the  second.  More  missionary  work  was 
done  during  this  period. 

At  this  second  meeting  (really  the  third  for  the  organizers  of  the 
movement,  whose  first  session  however  was  entirely  informal),  the  num- 
ber of  business  and  professional  men  present  who  were  interested  in 
various  societies  was  increased.  In  detail,  eight  of  the  clergy,  one  doctor 
and  three  business  men  attended.  There  was  also  present,  by  invitation, 
a  deputation  from  the  woman's  society  before  alluded  to.  The  committee 
on  plan  of  work  first  submitted  its  report:  It  commended  to  the  atten- 
tion of  wealthy  men  the  need  for  more  and  better  dwellings,  recom- 
mended that  the  sanitary  regulations  be  amended,  and  spoke  for  a  central 
employment  bureau,  with  possibly  a  woodyard.     Coming  to  the  charity 

18 


field,  it  suggested  unification  of  relief  work  through  a  permanent  con- 
ference and  the  carrying  on  of  relief  work  along  church  lines.  Then 
the  leader  for  the  women  was  invited  to  speak.  She  told  of  the  study 
made  by  her  organization,  of  the  conclusions  it  arrived  at,  of  the  in- 
vestigations which  had  been  made.  Then  she  boldly  presented  a  scheme 
for  a  separate  organizing  society  which  should  not  dispense  alms  in  any 
way.  Co-operation,  investigation,  registration,  friendly  visiting  and  con- 
ference meetings  were  described  and  their  values  presented.  Employment 
work  was  emphasized  also.  Though  the  gathering  was  a  conservative 
one,  the  plan  was  adopted  at  that  meeting.  It  would  probably  have 
been  rejected  at  the  previous  meeting,  but  the  step  had  been  prepared  for. 

At  once,  preparations  were  made  for  a  more  representative  meeting, 
many  personal  interviews  being  held.  Communications,  carefully  pre- 
pared, began  to  appear  in  the  newspapers.  The  third  meeting,  for  which 
printed  invitations  were  sent  to  all  interested  societies  as  well  as  to 
prominent  citizens,  was  attended  by  over  thirty-five  persons.  Fifteen  of 
these  were  women,  seven  were  ministers.  For  the  first  time  the  Catholics 
participated.  The  plan  as  presented  was  re-adopted  and  a  committee 
formed  to  arrange  for  a  general  public  meeting.  One  month  later  this 
meeting  was  held,  which  was  attended  by  three  hundred  and  fifty  people, 
about  one  hundred  of  whom  were  women.  The  chair  was  taken  by 
the  Mayor  of  the  city  and  there  were  other  distinguished  persons  present. 
The  plan  was  presented  by  the  chairman  of  the  old  conference,  who  was 
followed  by  the  spokesman  of  the  woman's  committee,  again  citing 
specific  instances  of  the  inefficiency  of  unorganized  charity  work.  An 
eminent  worker  from  another  city  spoke  at  length  upon  what  had  been 
accomplished  by  the  movement  elsewhere.  A  number  of  short  addresses 
were  made  by  other  prominent  citizens,  only  one  of  whom  was  a  clergy- 
man. All  of  those  who  spoke  were  men  well  known  in  the  community; 
all  were  contributors  to  various  societies;  not  all  were  active  members 
of  the  boards  of  directors  of  those  societies. 

The  public  meeting  endorsed  the  plan.  Then  and  then  only  were 
preparations  made  to  draw  up  articles  of  incorporation  and  make  up  a 
board  of  directors.  As  one  looks  over  the  plan  now,  the  ingenious  scheme 
of  slowly  gathering  strength  certainly  commends  itself.  First  the  women 
saw  the  need;  a  few  men  were  interested,  by  private  conversation,  in 
general  plans  for  betterment  of  conditions;  and  these  men  passed  the 
good  word  along  to  a  few  others  interested.  Then  the  first  conference 
was  held;  various  plans  for  social  work  were  considered;  unification, 
vaguely,  was  suggested;  but  the  need  of  something  along  this  line  was 

19 


conceded,  only  not  a  new  society — perish  the  thought!  A  few  other 
men  were  interested  privately.  Then  a  second  meeting;  a  committee 
still  preaching  unification,  but  no  separate  society.  Then  an  overwhelm- 
ing address,  showing  facts  regarding  the  need  of  organized  co-operation 
for  both  societies  and  individuals,  but  so  strongly  stating  that  the  new 
society  should  not  give  alms  that  the  objection  of  duplication  of  work 
could  not  be  convincingly  raised.  At  the  psychological  moment  charity 
organization  work  was  presented  graphically  to  minds  already  half  pre- 
pared; from  that  time  the  movement  gained  momentum  at  every  meet- 
ing, though  personal  interviews  between  times  were  many.  Of  course, 
many  remained  unconvinced,  but  the  movement  could  not  be  stayed. 

It  is  true  that  a  society  might  be  organized  under  similar  conditions 
without  all  this  "bother  and  worry"  and  fail  within  the  first  year,  just 
as  two  previous  movements  in  this  self-same  city  had  ignominiously  failed 
and  had,  in  fact,  cast  discredit  on  any  new  movement.  An  agitation  with 
plenty  of  open  hostility  to  contend  with  must  be  most  carefully  and  slowly 
nurtured  into  mature  strength  until  it  sweeps  everything  in  front  of  it. 

The  committee  appointed  at  the  public  meeting  canvassed  for  the 
board  of  directors  after  the  manner  already  indicated  in  the  "spontaneous 
movement."  When  the  board  was  completed,  it  consisted  of  twenty- 
seven  business  and  professional  men  of  high  standing,  with  an  auxiliary 
of  six  women,  who  were  qualified  to  serve  on  all  committees,  including 
the  executive.  The  executive  comm.ittee  was  organized  with  ten  mem- 
bers, four  of  whom  were  women. 


IV 
MAKING   READY   FOR  WORK 

OTHER  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  ISOLATED 

Wherever  it  is  difficult  to  overcome  the  actual  inertia  of  a  commun- 
ity, and  where  there  still  are  only  a  few  interested,  it  may  be  well  for 
an  attempt  to  be  made  to  obtain  a  social  outline  study  of  the  city,  similar 
to  the  one  described  in  another  pamphlet  published  by  this  Depart- 
ment.* It  is  quite  possible  that,  in  a  study  such  as  this,  the  industry 
of  only  one  or  two  persons  even  will  dig  up  social  facts  that  will  shock 
others  into  a  community  of  interest  with  them.  In  the  case  of  inertia 
in  a  city  under  20,000,  the  gathered  statistics  may  also  serve  to  indicate 
whether  there  is  work  enough  for  a  society  to  do. 

*  The  Inter-relation  of  Social  Movements,  page  5. 

20 


From  actual  incorporation  to  the  opening  of  a  regular  office  and  the 
beginning  of  the  salaried  secretary's  work,  may  be  possibly  a  matter  of 
several  months.  In  one  case  of  a  most  successful  society  the  writer  recalls 
that  four  months  intervened.  This  was  a  society  of  considerable  size, 
however,  and  shorter  periods  will  often  be  as  satisfactory.  The  two 
principal  tasks  during  this  time  are  the  selection  of  a  general  secretary 
and  the  securing  of  more  contributions  or  membership  fees. 

SELECTION    AND   TRAINING   OF    GENERAL    SECRETARY 

As  Stated  before,  any  city  over  20,000  should  obtain  sufficient  funds 
to  secure  a  trained  charity  organization  worker  from  some  other  city 
as  general  secretary.  Such  a  selection  should  be  made  with  the  advice 
of  the  executive  officers  of  other  societies.  It  should  be  said,  however, 
that  never  should  a  person  be  actually  elected  to  the  office  without  having 
had  first  a  personal  interview  with  several  members  of  the  executive 
committee.  Personality  counts  for  a  great  deal,  and  it  is  well  to  see 
just  how  a  person  will  *'fit  in."  By  all  means  have  the  candidate  come 
to  the  city  and  meet  the  entire  board  of  directors,  if  that  is  possible.  It 
is  extra  hazardous  on  both  sides  to  enter  into  an  engagement  at  long 
distance. 

In  the  case  of  a  smaller  city,  the  board  of  directors  may  decide  that 
it  must  engage  someone  already  living  in  the  community  who,  by  reason 
of  family  and  social  ties,  can  perhaps  be  secured  for  a  lower  salary  than 
would  attract  an  outsider.  Here  comes  an  opportunity  for  pursuing  a 
broad-minded  policy  which  should  not  be  neglected. 

It  will  mean  much  to  the  future  work  if,  when  such  a  person  is 
selected,  he  or  she  is  sent  on  salary  to  the  nearest  place  where  there  is 
a  society  of  large  proportions  and  told  to  do  active  case  work  in  that 
society  for  a  month  or  so.  There  is  nothing  more  broadening  in  the 
whole  range  of  social  endeavor  than  the  field  work  of  charity  organiza- 
tion societies,  because  that  work  touches  at  many  points  every  possible 
agency  for  betterment  or  progress.  So  nothing  can  take  the  place  of 
that  training.  There  one  gains  that  alertness  and  technical  skill  and 
comprehensive  imagination  which  books  may  suggest  but  cannot  instil 
without  practice.  There  one  also  gains  that  large  acquaintance  with 
charitable  resources,  private  and  public,  city,  county  and  state,  which  is 
so  necessary  in  order  to  labor  intelligently. 

In  selecting  a  person  from  the  community  itself,  education  should 
be  insisted  upon  as  well  as  ability,  altruism,  tact,  a  not  over-impetuous 
temperament,  some  sense  of  humor,  and  good  physical  health.     Guard 

21 


against  that  kind  of  worker  from  some  other  local  society  or  church 
who  is  set  in  his  ways  and  who  may  force  the  work  into  the  grooves 
he  already  knows. 

THE  MONEY  QUESTION 

Some  may  be  skeptical  as  to  the  presence  of  a  "money  question," 
before  the  society  is  actually  working.  Nevertheless  there  is  one.  If 
on  the  day  that  the  office  is  opened  there  is  in  bank  money  to  pay 
anywhere  from  tw^enty-five  to  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  first  year's  estimated 
expenses,  the  burden  of  supporting  the  society  will  be  rendered  very 
much  easier.  The  nearer  to  fifty  per  cent,  the  better.  The  writer  knows 
one  successful  society  recently  organized  which  had  a  full  half  of  its 
first  year's  expenses  in  bank  a  month  before  the  office  opened. 

It  is  not  possible  to  seek  for  general  public  support  at  this  time, 
but  all  the  larger  contributions,  and  there  will  always  be  some,  should 
be  personally  solicited  by  members  of  the  board  in  this  Interval.  The 
women  particularly  may  be  of  assistance  here.  If  contributions  are  ob- 
tained at  the  public  meeting,  these  will  also  be  added.  It  is  not  advisable 
to  start  any  comprehensive  scheme  for  canvassing  the  entire  city,  though 
such  schemes  may  be  considered.  But  the  endeavor  should  be  made  to 
raise  at  least  twenty  or  twenty-five  per  cent.,  in  all,  in  these  special  ways. 
Of  course,  absolute  pledges  will  be  as  acceptable  as  the  money,  but  no 
society  is  starting  upon  a  strong  foundation  If  It  does  not  know  absolutely 
whence  It  will  draw  a  quarter  of  its  first  year's  expenses. 

The  financing  of  a  charity  organization  society  is  very  rarely  an 
easy  task.  It  becomes  almost  Insufferably  difficult  if  It  develops  into  a 
fight  for  money  from  the  very  first  day  of  actual  work.  Here,  as  in 
actual  organization,  haste  oftentimes  means  waste  if  not  absolute  failure. 

UNDERWRITING  PLAN 

Some  of  the  more  progressive  societies  which  have  been  organized 
during  the  last  two  years  have  adopted  a  policy  of  underwriting.  This 
generally  takes  the  form  of  the  board  of  directors  (or  a  portion  of  it) 
underwriting  the  whole  estimated  expenses  for  the  first  year.  In  case  the 
contributions  received  during  this  year  do  not  equal  the  estimated  ex- 
penditures, the  underwriters  pay  their  pro  rata  share  of  the  deficiency. 
The  adoption  of  this  method  means  that  the  society  has  a  full  year  in 
which  to  justify  itself,  and  that  neither  the  board  of  directors  nor  the 
secretary  need  worry  about  its  getting  upon  the  financial  rocks  before  it 
has  had  time  to  establish  itself  as  a  working  agency.    The  underwriting 

22 


scheme  should  be  used  more  generally,  the  writer  believes.  Instead  of 
decreasing  the  responsibility  of  a  finance  committee,  an  underwriting  is 
much  more  liable  to  spur  it  on  to  increased  activity.  In  other  cases, 
where  there  is  not  on  hand  or  promised  a  sufficient  percentage  of  the 
estimated  first  year's  expenses,  there  should  be  a  limited  underwriting 
which  will  bring  the  amount  of  money  available  up  to  the  safety  figure. 
In  case  the  underwriting  is  to  be  drawn  upon  during  any  part  of  the 
first  year,  the  underwriters  may  be  protected  by  having  the  money 
borrowed  from  a  bank  upon  a  note  which  they  endorse  and  which  is 
not  payable  until  the  end  of  the  first  year,  so  that  if  sufficient  funds  to 
cover  all  expenses  are  eventually  raised  during  the  first  twelve  months, 
the  note  is  redeemed  without  the  underwriters  being  drawn  against. 

Another  advantage  from  the  presence  of  assured  financial  support  is 
that  it  makes  possible  the  opening  of  the  work  at  a  time  when  the 
pressure  of  it  w^ill  not  be  absolutely  killing.  The  salaried  secretary 
should  enter  the  field  in  the  summer  or  early  fall.  Then  there  is  time 
to  become  acquainted  with  local  charitable  resources  and  with  other 
workers,  to  do  useful  things  for  them,  and  to  become  acquainted  with 
some  needy  families,  especially  the  "chronics,"  before  the  inevitable  rush 
begins.  But  it  is  difficult  to  do  this  if  one  is  relying  for  support  on  cur- 
rent contributions,  because  it  is  harder  to  secure  subscriptions  then  than 
at  other  periods  of  the  year. 


V 

SPECIAL  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZATION 

There  are  several  special  problems  of  organization  which  it  would 
be  well  to  consider  here.  We  refer  (i)  to  the  possibility  of  organiza- 
tion in  towns  of  less  than  20,000;  (2)  to  the  question  of  county  or 
groupal  societies  (covering  a  group  of  small  cities  easily  accessible  to  one 
another)  ;  (3)  to  the  re-organization  of  old  societies  which  are  drying 
up;  and  (4)  to  the  utilization  of  the  central  council  idea. 

THE  SMALLER  CITY  PROBLEM 

There  can  be  no  question  of  the  need  of  charity  organization 
methods,  indeed,  in  even  the  smallest  of  cities  or  towns.  Nevertheless 
the  difficulties  of  supporting  such  a  work  are  many.  As  a  result  of  ex- 
perimenting, we  make  it  our  policy  to  suggest  to  a  town  of  between 
10,000  and  20,000  that  it  attempt  to  gain  some  idea  of  its  local  social 

23 


problems,  assuring  it  of  the  fact  that  there  are  successful  organizations 
with  paid  workers  in  places  of  even  10,000.  In  one  such  place,  which 
has  quite  an  effective  society  organized  within  the  last  two  years,  those 
interested  secured,  in  order  to  make  sure  of  their  ground,  data  along 
the  following  lines,  as  described  in  an  article  in  the  Survey : 

RECORD  OF  A  SMALL  CITY 

Preliminary  to  a  consideration  of  the  need  of  an  associated  charities  in  Port 
Jervis,  N.  Y.,  a  railroad  town  with  between  8cx)o  and  10,000  population,  it  was 
decided  to  learn  just  the  size  of  the  superficial  poverty  problem.  It  was  known 
that  there  were  many  applications  for  aid  and  many  criminal  cases.  But  it  was 
thought  worth  while  to  learn  what  the  real  conditions  were.  The  figures,  the 
result  of  research  and  of  daily  records  kept  by  a  number  of  business  men,  are  sur- 
prising: 

In  the  year  there  were  200  applications  for  aid,  of  which  eighty-three  were 
to  the  charities  commissioner,  forty-four  to  the  church  societies  and  seventy-three 
to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  In  two  months  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  had  twelve 
requests  for  work  and  the  Erie  Railroad  shops  200  in  three  months.  Only  sixty 
of  the  last  were  granted.  In  two  weeks  four  restaurants  had  five  applications 
for  aid  daily,  a  shoe  store  five,  a  bakery  six,  a  butcher  shop  five.  Many  stores 
which  were  asked  to  keep  records  said  they  had  refused  aid  in  all  cases.  Five 
ministers  reported  sixteen  applications  and  ten  housekeepers  four  each  in  two 
weeks.    The  courts  dealt  with  410  criminal  cases  in  the  year. 

Of  course  there  are  duplications,  but  the  investigation  is  worth  serious  study 
by  other  cities  of  the  same  size.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Port  Jervis  is  by  no 
means  rich.  It  is  simply  a  railroad  division  city  and  consequently  is  in  one  of 
the  main  streams  of  travel  from  east  to  west.  Even  so,  this  study  makes  out  a 
prima  facie  case  for  an  associated  charities  with  paid  workers  in  every  railroad 
city  of  over  7500.  Port  Jervis  has  gone  ahead  energetically  to  organize  and  to 
train  a  secretary,  realizing  that  it  has  only  scratched  the  surface,  and  that  there 
is  much  more  social  work  to  do  besides  handling  the  superficial  poverty  problem. 

Upon  the  basis  of  this  showing,  it  was  possible  to  convince  a  num- 
ber of  business  men  that  there  was  need  in  the  city  of  a  social  worker, 
who  would  give  at  least  half  time.  Such  a  potential  social  worker  was 
found  in  the  city  itself.  Since  then  she  has  received  special  training  and 
the  work  is  progressing  very  satisfactorily,  except  for  this,  that  the 
secretary  is  actually  giving  most  of  her  time  though  receiving  only  half- 
time  salary.  It  may  be  that,  in  connection  with  such  an  examination  of 
superficial  problems,  there  should  be  a  gathering  of  data  of  the  kind 
indicated  in  the  social  outline  before  referred  to.*  But  where  there  is 
absolute  ignorance,  the  kind  of  preliminary  inquiry  made  in  Port  Jervis 
must  certainly  precede  the  other.  In  a  rough  way,  it  indicates  the  num- 
ber of  families  which  must  occupy  the  attention  of  the  worker,  and 
demonstrates  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  volunteer  work  to  go  forward 
further  without  co-ordination  and  leadership.  In  utilizing  the  sugges- 
tions made  in  the  social  outline,  it  would  be  well  to  pick  out  certain 

•  The  Inter-relation  of  Social  Movements,  page  5. 

24 


important  matters  in  which  the  showing  will  leave  a  distinct  impression 
that  there  are  real  family  and  real  social  problems  present. 

->  In  cases  where  such  an  inquiry  is  made,  the  services  of  this  Depart- 
ment are  placed  at  the  disposal  of  any  group  of  people  who  desire  advice 
as  to  ways  of  meeting  conditions  which  are  apparent.  While  it  cannot 
be  too  distinctly  stated  that,  with  relation  to  places  of  between  10,000 
and  20,000,  the  general  principles  of  organization  are  not  as  clearly 
defined  as  in  the  case  of  cities  of  over  20,000,  still  we  believe  that  the 
chief  difficulty  will  lie  in  the  fact  that  the  smaller  cities  must  pretty 
generally  make  use  of  the  services  of  some  local  person  who  must  be 
fitted  to  take  up  the  work  of  secretary  by  going  through  a  short  training 
in  another  city. 

With  cities  under  10,000  there  can  be  nothing  but  a  special  working 
out  for  each  individual  case;  this  is  particularly  true  of  cities  between 
5000  and  10,000.  Where  cities  are  5000  or  under,  we  are  inclined 
to  urge  that  they  consider  the  committee  organization  plan ;  that  is,  that 
they  do  not  attempt  to  have  a  society,  but  a  committee  instead,  with  some 
form  of  registration  in  the  hands  of  a  competent  volunteer.  As  a  pre- 
liminary to  this,  we  always  urge  upon  such  committees  that  they  follow 
a  course  of  study  for  a  time  before  attempting  to  develop  family  treat- 
ment. Where  a  society  is  organized  with  a  trained  worker  in  charge, 
the  reading  follows  the  beginning  of  work.  But  where  volunteers,  who 
have  had  no  contact  with  the  work,  are  obliged  to  lead,  it  is  desirable 
that  they  should  receive  whatever  mental  training  and  broadening  of 
vision  is  possible  through  a  study  course  before  they  begin  work.  This 
study  should  involve  the  consideration  of  from  8  to  12  topics  with  allied 
reading.  We  should  be  pleased  to  help  in  suggesting  the  right  kind  of 
course  for  a  committee  of  this  sort.  The  committee  should  include  the 
charity  workers  of  the  city  and  other  interested  people.  It  is  particularly 
desirable  that  those  graduates  of  colleges,  both  men  and  women,  who 
have  had  courses  in  social  science  or  philanthropy,  should  be  brought 
into  the  work. 

There  is  another  escape  for  the  small  city,  which  will  mean  both 
the  best  utilization  of  volunteer  forces  and  the  services  of  a  trained 
worker ;  this  is  the  county  society  plan. 

THE  GROUPAL  OR  COUNTY  SOCIETY 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  group  of  cities  of  from  3000  to  20,000 
which  are  within  ten  to  twenty-five  miles  of  each  other  and  are  con- 
nected by  trolley,  should  not  organize  a  groupal  society  to  work  in  them 


all.  This  groupal  Idea  Is  still  in  Its  experimental  stage,  but  there  is  no 
reason  why  It  should  not  meet  with  success  under  the  right  kind  of 
leadership.  It  would  mean  that  each  city  should  assume  responsibility 
for  a  certain  proportion  of  the  expenses  of  the  society;  that  the  office 
should  be  located  In  the  principal  city;  that  there  should  be  sub-offices, 
which  ought  to  be  obtained  without  charge,  in  the  other  cities;  and  that 
a  trained  worker  should  be  engaged,  who  should  divide  her  time  among 
the  cities,  according  to  the  volume  of  work  In  each.  Thus  she  could  be 
in  one  city  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  regularly  each  week,  in  the  next 
city  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  in  the  next  on  Friday  and  Saturday. 
Such  an  arrangement  would  require  that  in  each  city  there  should  be 
one  or  more  volunteers  who  would  agree  to  attend  immediately  to  any 
emergency  in  their  respective  cities,  In  case  it  was  impossible  for  the 
secretary  to  come  at  once. 

The  groupal  society  might  practically  be  a  group  of  small  societies 
who  have  entered  Into  an  agreement  each  to  take  a  certain  part  of  the 
time  of  the  secretary.  Even  If  this  form  were  adopted  it  would  be  most 
advisable  that  there  should  be  a  joint  committee,  one  from  each  society, 
to  reduce  any  friction  which  might  be  occasioned  by  the  belief  of  one 
society  that  another  was  getting. a  little  more  of  Its  share  of  the  worker's 
time  than  was  agreed  upon.  If  there  were  simply  the  one  organization, 
then  there  would  be  local  committees  in  each  place  to  raise  the  necessary 
money  and  to  help  In  the  treatment  of  cases,  etc.  There  would  have 
to  be  a  directorate  for  the  whole  society,  which  might  be  composed  of 
only  one  or  two  delegates  from  each  one  of  these  committees.  It  would 
not  be  necessary  for  the  directorate  of  the  whole  society  to  meet,  except- 
ing as  might  be  expedient.  That  Is,  the  active  executive  direction  could 
rest  In  the  local  committees,  except  when  some  broad  public  policy  con- 
cerning them  all,  or  the  need  of  ironing  out  relations  between  the  dif- 
ferent committees,  w^as  apparent. 

REORGANIZATION    OF    DRIED-UP    SOCIETIES 

The  problem  of  reorganizing  societies  which  have  dried  up  cer- 
tainly has  a  place  in  this  discussion.  Many  such  societies  have  started  out 
upon  the  broadest  basis  and  with  best  ideas,  but  were  too  timid  at  the 
start.  Instead  of  waiting  until  they  could  engage  their  leader,  they 
picked  up  somebody  who  needed  a  job  and  put  him  in  as  secretary. 
Then,  when  the  society  did  not  live  up  to  expectations,  and  simply  de- 
generated Into  a  dole-giving  association,  the  broader-minded  supporters 
left  it  and  it  began  to  dry  up.    It  Is  seldom  that  these  dried-up  organlza- 

26 


tlons  actually  die:  a  certain  portion  of  the  community  will  keep  on  re- 
ferring families  to  them  without  any  sense  of  responsibility  as  to  what 
becomes  of  the  families.  Then  again,  of  course,  there  are  the  superficial 
results;  that  is,  the  immediate  actual  destitution  is  satisfied,  or  seems  to 
be,  and  many  people  do  not  think  beyond  that.  Therefore,  as  said 
before,  these  organizations  do  not  actually  die.  And  more  than  that, 
there  are  many  stages  of  the  drying-up  process.  We  have  indicated  the 
worst ;  there  are  many  societies  which  are  now,  or  in  the  near  future  will 
be,  passing  through  some  of  these  different  stages — that  is,  they  will 
have  some  good  points  and  do  excellent  work  in  some  directions,  and 
yet  will  not  command  the  sympathy  of  the  most  broad-minded  and 
socially-minded  men  and  women  in  the  city. 

The  reorganization  of  such  societies  is  the  most  difficult  single  prob- 
lem in  this  field  of  social  w^ork.  In  the  first  place,  the  directors  are  liable 
to  be  the  very  last  people  who  feel  that  a  change  is  needed.  Then, 
when  a  few  of  them  do  realize  that  they  are  not  up-to-date,  the  eternal 
personal  equation  comes  up;  that  is,  they  dislike  to  endorse  a  change 
which  they  fear  will  involve,  sooner  or  later,  a  change  in  the  general 
secretaryship,  and  therefore  the  displacement  of  someone  who  may  have 
served  them  to  the  best  of  his  or  her  ability  for  a  number  of  years.  Of 
course,  there  is  the  argument  to  be  used  here  that  the  interest  of  one 
person  should  not  stand  against  the  interest  of  the  many  families  which 
may  be  suffering  from  the  neglect  of  their  deepest  needs;  nevertheless, 
the  social  imagination  is,  as  yet,  but  slightly  developed  in  most  of  us, 
and  often  a  faithful  but  narrow  secretary  stands  in  the  way  of  immediate 
reorganization. 

It  has  been  the  experience  of  this  Department  that  the  movement 
for  reorganization  more  often  begins  outside  of  the  society  than  in  it; 
that  is,  other  social  agencies  and  representative  people  begin  to  insist 
upon  and  urge  a  change.  Some  of  them  may  have  read  of  the  work  in 
other  cities;  one  of  them  may  have  visited  an  active  society  in  another 
city,  a  third  may  have  taken  a  course  of  study  in  college  or  elsewhere — 
there  are  many  ways  in  which  the  beginning  may  come.  It  is  dis- 
tinctly a  waiting  game.  There  have  been  occasions  where,  after  the 
first  people  waked  up  to  the  need  of  a  change,  three  years  have  elapsed 
before  the  right  opportunity  arrived. 

It  would  be  absurd,  of  course,  to  indicate  any  definite  line  of  pro- 
cedure in  connection  with  one  of  the  most  intricate  and  varied  of  prob- 
lems. This,  however,  should  be  hinted.  It  seems  to  be  true  that  outside 
aid  is  even  more  essential  in  such  a  situation  than  in  the  case  of  a  new 

27 


organization.  This  means  that  some  other  social  agency,  a  woman's 
club,  or  board  of  trade,  or  tuberculosis  association,  or  a  group  of  them 
together  (which  Is  preferable),  should  invite  some  representative  of  the 
charity  organization  movement  to  come  to  the  city  to  suggest  a  better 
co-ordination  of  the  existing  social  work.  Distinctly,  the  purpose  should 
not  be  stated  as  meaning  a  reorganization  of  the  old  society  itself.  When 
a  worker  comes  with  such  a  general  invitation,  it  will  be  possible  for 
him  to  make  suggestions  about  the  work  of  one  or  more  of  the  other 
social  agencies.  Of  course,  Inevitably,  he  finds  the  lack  in  the  local 
charity  organization  field,  and  that  plays  an  Important  part  in  his  final 
presentation  of  the  city's  social  needs.  Such  a  surveyor  of  the  field 
should  be  Invited  to  address  a  public  meeting  towards  the  end  of  his 
stay,  and  should  be  asked  to  make  a  written  report  covering  all  of  his 
recommendations.  With  the  presentation  of  this  report,  there  may  be 
appointed  a  committee  to  urge  its  recommendations  upon  the  different 
organizations,  including  the  charity  organization  society.  Thus,  while 
the  Impetus  Is  a  local  Impetus,  as  a  matter  of  fact  It  is  based  upon  the 
recommendations  of  someone  who  comes  as  a  stranger,  and  is,  therefore, 
by  reason  of  his  view  of  things  from  a  point  quite  outside  of  the  conflict 
Itself,  able  to  make  clearer  recommendations  than  anyone  in  the  city. 

Every  such  reorganization  does  not  require  this  mode  of  attack.  It 
may  be  that  the  board  of  directors  have  waked  up  and  made  the  change 
themselves.  Wherever,  though,  the  preliminary  difficulties  seem  to  be 
Insurmountable,  wherever  no  Impression  appears  to  have  been  made,  this 
form  of  attack  may  be  worth  considering.  It  has  been  successfully  tried 
In  several  important  cities. 

UTILIZATION    OF   THE   CENTRAL   COUNCIL    IDEA 

Where  the  number  of  social  agencies  and  of  churches  Is  compara- 
tively small,  and  where  the  group  of  those  interested  in  the  different 
kinds  of  work  is  homogeneous  and  comparatively  small,  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  associated  charities  may  practically  represent  all  of  the 
philanthropic  Interests  of  the  city.  In  this  case,  there  Is  no  need  of  any 
more  formal  federation  among  the  different  social  agencies.  Where, 
however,  the  situation  has  revealed  that  different  workers  are  getting 
into  each  others'  way,  by  not  knowing  each  others'  plans,  and  where 
It  seems  to  be  Impossible  for  all  of  the  philanthropic  interests  of  the  city 
to  present  a  united  enthusiastic  front  In  the  attempt  to  carry  through  a 
public  measure,  for  Instance,  then  It  is  time  to  consider  the  feasibility  of 
the  central  council  idea.     This  Is  conditioned,  however,  by  what  Is  in- 

28 


dicated  in  the  paragraph  below  as  to  necessity  for  good  feeling  be- 
tween social  workers  even  if  indifference  is  present.  This  idea  is  em- 
bodied in  a  constitutional  provision  which  is  now  sent  out  upon  request 
with  the  standard  form  of  constitution  for  an  associated  charities  offered 
by  the  Charity  Organization  Department.  In  substance,  it  means  a 
loose  federation  of  social  agencies  and  of  churches  whose  relations  to  the 
associated  charities  are  purely  advisory,  and  who  must  inevitably  exert  a 
controlling  influence  in  the  social  problems  of  the  city. 

Two  facts  are  to  be  noted  with  reference  to  the  central  council  idea, 
both  of  which  have  been  demonstrated  by  field  experience.  One  is  that 
the  central  council  may  serve  as  a  very  useful  battering  ram  in  effecting 
the  reorganization  of  an  old  society ;  in  more  than  one  place  it  has  aroused 
in  the  local  society  a  new  sense  of  the  importance  of  taking  and  occupy- 
ing a  more  responsible  position.  The  other  is  that  it  is  dangerous  to 
create  a  central  council  in  a  place  where  different  groups  of  social 
workers  are  more  or  less  antagonistic  or  jealous  of  one  another. 
Wherever  there  is  a  fair  degree  of  cordiality  and  interest,  there  you 
will  find  a  field  ripe  for  the  central  council  idea.  Wherever  there  is 
the  other  kind  of  feeling,  it  is  w^U  to  develop  a  mutual  understanding 
by  having  a  simple  conference  which  monthly  brings  the  different  social 
groups  together  to  consider  questions  of  common  interest.  After  they 
have  got  to  know  each  other  pretty  well,  and  the  old  feeling  of  suspicion 
has  passed  away,  then  the  central  council  may  develop  out  of  these 
conferences. 

VI 

THE   FIRST   TWO   YEARS 

No  movement  of  this  sort,  either  spontaneous  or  nurtured,  will  ever 
be  successful  unless,  before  the  commencement  of  actual  work,  it  has  an 
active,  interested  and  enthusiastic  band  of  partisans  behind  it.  That  is 
why  the  propaganda  of  the  preliminary  period  has  been  so  much  dwelt 
upon.  It  is  necessary  to  have  not  simply  the  perfunctory,  intellectual  ap- 
proval of  a  number  of  influential  people,  but  their  conviction  and  deter- 
mination as  indicated  before. 

With  the  actual  commencement  of  work  there  comes  the  really 
troublesome  time  and  many  a  shipwreck.  To  begin  with,  nothing  made 
by  man  is  perfect.  What  a  constitution  describes  as  the  objects  of  a 
society's  organization  and  what  that  society  can  actually  accomplish, 
especially  during  the  first  two  years  of  its  existence,  are  two  very  dif- 

29 


ferent  things.  Moreover,  what  people  think  are  the  objects  of  a  society's 
existence  and  what  those  objects  really  are,  are  also  two  very  different 
things.  During  these  first  difficult  months  it  will  often  appear  to  the 
harassed  ones  who  are  directing  affairs,  that  both  friends  and  foes  are 
doing  their  best  to  bring  about  a  failure;  foes  by  putting  the  society  to 
all  sorts  of  tests ;  friends  by  becoming  impatient  when  it  does  not  accom- 
plish things  over  night,  and  also  by  asking  it  to  accomplish  the  impossible. 

The  writer  recalls  a  society  in  which  the  general  secretary,  with 
practically  an  office  assistant  only,  was  obliged  to  deal  with  208  cases 
during  the  first  three  months  of  work.  In  addition,  he  carried  on  a  good 
publicity  campaign,  helped  to  organize  the  financial  campaign,  put  four 
or  five  beggars  out  of  business,  had  four  legal  cases,  was  helping  to 
organize  the  visiting  nurse  work,  and  was  doing  all  sorts  of  Investigating 
for  the  city  poor  relief  officials.  Yet  someone  of  the  zealous  members 
of  his  board  was  Inclined  to  believe  that  the  pace  was  not  fast  enough. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  too  fast ;  It  can  be  said  with  absolute  certainty 
that  no  society  in  an  ordinary  city  should  be  expected  to  have  any  sort  of 
hold  upon  the  situation  in  less  than  two  or  three  years  after  organization. 

Let  us  consider  In  detail,  therefore,  this  first  crucial  period  of  two 
years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  a  society  may  be  considered  to  have 
reached  years  of  discretion  and  to  be  able  to  guide  Itself  without  outside 
advice.  In  the  first  place,  it  may  be  stated  generally  that  it  Is  rarely  ad- 
visable for  a  new  society  to  take  up  active  preventive  work  during  these 
first  two  years,  for  It  will  need  all  Its  energy  properly  to  develop  the 
fundamental  case  work.  Preventive  work  grows  naturally  out  of  case 
work. 

REGISTRATION 

Despite  the  Importance  of  registration,  too  much  time  should  not 
be  given  to  It  during  the  early  months.  During  this  time,  the  secretary 
should  be  endeavoring  to  develop  the  case  work  and  Incidentally  should 
be  making  Investigations  to  obtain  the  necessary  information  about  the 
use  of  other  agencies.  There  should  be  an  Invitation  sent  out  to  all 
societies  and  churches  to  register,  and,  if  possible,  the  names  of  the  fami- 
lies coming  to  the  outdoor  public  relief  department  should  be  obtained. 
If  an  attempt  Is  made  to  organize  the  registration  rather  completely  dur- 
ing the  first  two  months,  the  burden  may  be  found  too  much  for  the 
limited  force. 

It  has  been  conclusively  demonstrated  that  the  kind  of  registration 
which  is  most  effective  is  of  the  skeleton  form.  •  That  is,  the  societies 
now  having  the  best   registration  bureaus  simply  ask   for  the  names, 

30 


residences,  and  a  few  other  identifying  details  regarding  the  families 
which  come  to  them  from  other  societies  for  recording.  There  is  no 
attempt  made  to  record  the  information  which  these  other  societies  have 
about  the  families.  The  cards  indicate  which  societies  have  dealt  with 
each  family.  If  the  associated  charities  finds  that  it  is  obliged  to  take  up 
one  of  these  families,  or  that  another  society  or  church  is  taking  it  up, 
then  it  gathers  either  by  telephone,  or  letter,  or  personal  conference  the 
necessary  information  from  different  sources.  This  is  by  all  odds  the  best 
method  of  registration.  This,  of  course,  does  not  refer  to  the  case 
records  of  the  associated  charities  itself. 

If  a  society  opens  its  office  during  the  summer  or  early  autumn,  it 
will  be  able  to  do  more  registration  work  at  the  start  than  if  the  opening 
day  comes  in  the  early  winter.  Just  as  soon,  however,  as  societies  and 
individuals  begin  to  call  frequently  upon  the  secretary  to  advise  or  treat 
families,  let  the  registration  work  drop  for  the  time  being,  excepting 
where  you  wish  to  demonstrate  the  usefulness  of  the  society  in  some 
special  way,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  comparison  of  lists  for  Thanksgiving 
or  Christmas  dinners,  or  when  you  believe  two  churches  are  badly  dupli- 
cating each  others'  work. 

When,  at  a  later  period,  you  can  take  up  the  registration  work  again, 
emphasize  it  as  a  positive  factor  rather  than  a  negative  one.  Registration 
does  check  duplication  and  over-lapping.  More  important  than  that,  it 
increases  the  value  of  the  service  to  the  family  which  is  under  treatment. 
When  you  know  just  what  sources  to  turn  to  for  past  experiences  with 
this  same  family,  you  are  able  to  serve  the  family  better,  and  are  improv- 
ing your  own  work  as  well  as  the  work  of  other  societies.  Even  with 
this  positive  emphasis  you  will  probably  encounter  considerable  opposition, 
especially  from  societies  and  churches  otherwise  friendly,  to  the  exchange 
of  records.  Where  this  is  so,  you  must  take  the  next  best  thing ;  that  is, 
not  to  urge  registration  to  the  breaking  point,  but  simply  to  consult  these 
societies  when  you  have  the  opportunity  in  connection  with  the  investiga- 
tion of  individual  families  of  which  they  have  knowledge. 

The  policy  of  delaying  registration  suggested  above  may  subject  a 
society  to  criticism  by  precise  people  and  fault-finders,  because  duplication 
may  not  be  entirely  eliminated;  but  it  is  easier  to  bear  this  criticism 
than  to  have  the  society  enmeshed  in  registration  work  and  unable  to  give 
sufficient  attention  to  the  immediate  case  work.  Do  not,  however,  allow 
the  registration  work  to  lie  indefinitely  upon  the  table.  Of  course,  the 
value  of  registration  increases  with  the  size  of  the  city;  but  the  kind  of 
service  that  it  renders  is  necessary  In  every  city  which  has  a  charity 

31 


organization  society.  There  was  a  time  when  there  was  a  reaction 
against  registration,  because  its  function  was  not  understood.  As  afore- 
said, registration  means  better  service  for  both  the  community  and  the 
families  which  are  treated. 


INVESTIGATION 

This  is  not  a  treatise  on  investigation,  but  a  discussion  of  a  few 
points  on  the  development  of  investigation  in  a  new  society. 

It  is  desirable  that  a  new  society  should  soon  serve  as  a  place  to 
which  are  referred  for  investigation  applicants  going  to  church  or  other 
relief  agencies  which  have  no  trained  workers.  One  is  apt  to  secure 
such  co-operation  more  quickly  from  agencies  which  are  not  church  so- 
cieties: some  churches  will  make  use  of  the  society  in  this  way  from  the 
start,  and  some  will  not.  The  development  on  this  side  should  be  a 
natural  one,  it  should  not  be  forced.  Sometimes  societies  are  asked  to 
make  investigations  for  other  kinds  of  organizations  and  institutions,  and 
it  may  be  that  the  new  society  will  be  forced,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  to 
make  such  investigations.  But  the  writer  believes  that,  as  much  as 
possible,  the  new  society  should  keep  out  of  this  kind  of  investigating, 
unless  the  field  is  so  restricted  that  practically  the  same  group  of  families 
are  being  treated  by  all  concerned.  At  least,  there  should  not  be  too 
many  entangling  alliances  of  this  sort  before  the  society  is  firmly  estab- 
lished. It  is  quite  possible  for  it  to  undertake  so  many  investigations  for 
other  agencies  as  to  be  unable  to  do  any  thorough  case  work  itself.  When 
all  is  said  and  done,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  society  is  going  to 
achieve  public  support  upon  the  basis  of  its  case  work  during  the  first 
year. 

It  must  be  clear  that,  in  addition  to  the  work  for  the  relief  agencies, 
all  investigations  for  private  individuals  should  center  as  much  as  pos- 
sible in  the  one  office.  Indeed,  continued  efforts  should  be  made  to  bring 
this  about  by  widely  distributing  slips  for  the  reference  of  people  to  the 
society  from  private  residences,  business  houses,  etc.  There  should  be 
no  let-up  in  this  part  of  the  campaign,  and  in  meetings,  etc.,  special 
emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  the  point.  It  should  be  pointed  out  that 
there  is  a  public  office,  open  every  day,  with  a  paid  worker  ready  to  go 
out  upon  the  call  of  any  citizen,  and  ready  to  go  immediately  if  there 
is  an  emergency.  The  reference  slips  for  referring  applicants  should  give 
an  opportunity  for  those  referring  to  say  in  what  way  they  can  or  will 
aid,  if  aid  is  necessary;  and  should  also  make  it  possible,  by  supplying 


with  each  slip  a  coupon  to  be  sent  through  the  mails,  for  the  society  to 
investigate,  even  if  the  applicants  do  not  come  to  the  office  as  requested. 

One  important  point:  Never  fail  to  acknowdedge  receipt  of  an 
inquiry  on  the  same  day  that  it  comes.  This  may  be  done  on  a  postal 
card  without  mentioning  the  name  of  family  concerned,  thus — "Your  in- 
quiry regarding  destitute  family  received.  It  will  receive  our  im- 
mediate attention."  Within  a  few  days  a  partial  report,  if  a  completed 
one  is  not  possible,  should  be  forwarded,  making  suggestions,  and  telling 
what  may  be  done  if  the  investigating  yet  to  be  done  does  not  change 
the  aspect  of  affairs.  In  this  way  people  will  appreciate  that  delays  in 
answering  do  not  mean  slowness.  It  is  far  better  to  follow  this  plan 
than  to  wait  until  you  can  answer  finally  and  completely.  When  you 
wait,  you  do  not  always  remove  the  impression  from  people's  minds  of 
long  delays. 

Make  the  report  pithy  and  suggestive.  Do  not  simply  state  facts, 
but  suggest  what  the  inquirer  can  do,  what  the  society  will  do,  and 
who  else  possibly  may  co-operate. 

CO-OPERATION,  TREATMENT  AND  CONFERENCE 

These  three  phases  of  charity  organization  work  are  so  closely 
related  that  they  should  be  considered  together.  Here  again  there  is 
to  be  no  discussion  of  ideals,  but  a  few  practical  hints. 

To  begin  with,  do  not  be  discouraged  if  there  appears  to  be  a 
tremendous  distance  between  what  you  hoped  to  accomplish  and  what 
you  actually  achieve.  This  sentence  does  not  mean  that  one  should 
complacently  sit  down  and  not  try  to  lessen  the  difference;  effort  is 
essential  or  the  society  is  doomed  to  death  or  senile  decay.  Under  the  best 
conditions,  it  may  be  confidentially  whispered,  there  are  still  tremend- 
ous distances.  The  charity  organization  movement  is  still  in  its  infancy. 
While  there  is  bound  to  be  this  disparity  between  accomplishment  and 
ideal,  yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  are  compensations  for  the 
secretary  of  a  new  society.  Even  the  simplest  things  which  he  does,  or 
which  are  done  by  volunteers  with  his  advice,  are  so  far  ahead  of  the 
ordinary  kind  of  work  done  with  families  that  the  community  is  likely 
to  be  quite  appreciative  of  them.  In  other  words,  the  slightest  step 
forward  is  bound  to  be  appreciated  up  to  Its  fullest  value  and  probably 
beyond  it.  Secretaries  who  have  gone  to  places  where  there  is  much  to 
do  scarcely  know  where  to  begin.  But  they  know  that  they  cannot 
avoid  doing  things  from  day  to  day  which  will  attract  attention  to  their 
society  and  increase  the  community's  interest  in  their  work.     There  is 

33 


this  compensation  to  the  pioneers  in  the  movement,  both  to  those  serving 
as  volunteers  and  to  the  secretaries  themselves. 

Some  suggestions  have  already  been  made  regarding  co-operation 
in  registration  and  investigation.  Supplementing  these,  the  general  sec- 
retary should,  w^ithout  being  officious  in  his  relations  with  officials  or 
with  interested  private  persons,  offer  to  do  things  for  them  in  his  own 
special  line  which  will  make  him  more  and  more  valuable  to  them.  A 
secretary  who  is  obliging,  tactful,  and  energetic  will  make  more  friends 
for  the  society  than  the  most  influential  member  on  the  board.  Every 
time  he  helps  somebody  else  out,  he  demonstrates  anew  the  value  of  a 
paid  social  worker. 

One  grave  danger  in  the  first  year  of  a  new  society  is  that  the 
number  of  cases  in  which  apparently  questions  of  material  relief  bulk 
larger  than  anything  else,  will  be  so  considerable,  that  before  one  knows 
it  both  secretary  and  advisory  committee  will  find  themselves  discussing 
nothing  but  material  relief.  Conscious  effort  must  be  made  to  guard 
against  this.  Be  assured  that  the  other  questions  are  there,  only  they 
have  not  been  brought  to  light.  One  way  of  getting  surer  foothold  is 
for  the  secretary  or  committee  to  begin  to  pay  especial  attention  to  the 
individual  children  in  particular  families;  problems  are  thus  unearthed 
which  require  solving,  and  from  that  time  the  work  will  become  in- 
creasingly valuable.  We  suggest  child  problems  as  a  good  point  at 
which  to  begin  to  broaden  the  work,  because  in  smaller  cities  charity 
organization  societies  have  to  do  much  that  is  done  by  special  children's 
societies  in  larger  places. 

ft  will  be  of  material  assistance,  also,  if  interested  members  of  the 
board,  particularly  women  of  leisure,  take  upon  themselves  the  burden 
of  planning  and  working  out  a  course  of  treatment  for  a  few  families, 
thiis  relieving  the  secretary  of  a  little  of  that  really  heavy  sense  of 
responsibility  which  every  conscientious  worker  feels  in  a  new  field, 
facing  partial  chaos.  The  knowledge  of  things  undone  grows  upon  such 
a  one  like  that  familiar  form  of  nightmare  in  which  one  wants  to  escape 
some  impending  danger  and  cannot  move. 

Another  suggestion  regarding  treatment:  It  will  be  well  for  a  new 
society  occasionally  to  consult  some  worker  in  an  older  society  as  to  how 
this  or  that  difficult  problem  would  be  dealt  with  if  the  older  society  were 
facing  it. 

As  to  conferences  or  committees  in  connection  with  treatment: 
Organize  as  soon  as  possible  a  committee  which  shall  consider  cases 
brought  to  it  by  the  secretary.     Such  a  committee  may  meet  once  or 

34 


twice  a  month,  and  the  secretary  should  be  at  liberty  to  consult  the 
chairman  or  other  members  between  meetings.  As  to  membership: 
There  should  be  a  few  members  of  the  board  upon  it;  also,  as  far  as 
possible,  ministers  or  other  representatives  of  churches,  representatives 
of  other  charitable  societies,  one  or  more  doctors,  a  lawyer,  one  or  more 
school  principals  or  teachers,  and  other  individuals  who  can  give  prac- 
tical advice.  If  a  labor  man  should  come  on  it  would  be  worth  all 
the  effort  necessary  to  secure  him.  As  to  other  conferences  to  consider 
general  problems:  It  is  well  to  delay  their  organization  until  the  case 
work  of  the  society  is  running  with  some  smoothness.  Where  a  society 
has  only  one  or  two  salaried  officers,  the  arranging  of  such  meetings 
should  be  undertaken  by  volunteers. 

The  organization  of  the  friendly  visiting  work  may  center  around 
the  committee  on  treatment  or  around  a  separate  conference.  In  the 
friendly  visiting  work  this  rule  should  be  laid  down:  If  churches  or 
societies  or  individuals  undertake  regularly  to  visit  families  given  them, 
it  should  be  agreed  that  the  organizing  society  is  still  responsible  for 
their  care  and  that  the  visitors  are  subject  to  the  advice  and  decisions 
of  the  general  secretary  or  of  the  treatment  committee.  If  this  is  not 
done,  the  society  w^ill  be  involved,  sooner  or  later,  in  embarrassing  situa- 
tions with  people  who  have  referred  families  to  it,  which  it  has  assigned 
to  the  independent  charge  of  some  other  society  or  person.  The  public 
holds  a  society  responsible  for  the  people  referred  to  it  and  will  not 
accept  any  shifting  of  responsibility.  Insist,  therefore,  upon  co-operation 
in  this  respect,  upon  having  all  cases  in  care  of  some  officer  or  committee 
of  the  society,  and  subject  to  their  decisions  with  reference  to  treatment. 
Of  course,  every  society  wishing  to  do  friendly  visiting  is  assumed  to 
have  representation  on  such  a  committee.  The  writer  knows  of  a  society 
which  had  the  decentralization  plan.  That  is,  families  were  transferred 
to  the  care  of  friendly  visitors'  conferences  which  had  no  organic  relation 
with  the  society  itself.  For  years  some  of  these  families  did  not  come 
to  the  society  again.  Then,  accidentally,  is  was  discovered  in  two  or 
three  instances,  that  they  were  still  being  visited  by  these  friendly 
visitors.  That  was  all  right,  only  it  was  also  discovered  that  these 
friendly  visitors  had  sloughed  oft  any  exterior  covering  of  right  methods 
of  treatment,  and  had  simply  become  reckless  almoners — the  destroyers 
of  these  families. 


35 


BOARD    AND    EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE    MEETINGS 

In  some  places  it  will  be  found  possible  to  hold  monthly  board 
meetings,  in  others  only  executive  committee  meetings.  In  the  latter 
case,  the  whole  board  will  come  together  only  two  or  three  times  a  year 
to  hear  how  affairs  are  progressing  and  to  approve  things  generally. 

Whichever  is  the  active  body,  whether  the  board  or  the  executive 
committee — in  exceptional  cases  both  may  be — there  will  be  much  for  it 
to  do  in  connection  with  the  finances,  as  indicated  later.  To  it  should 
be  brought  of  course  any  broad  questions  of  policy;  for  instance,  the 
memorializing  of  a  city  or  county  department  regarding  some  general 
reform.  Just  how  far  it  can  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  actual 
case  work  is  sometimes  a  perplexing  thing  to  decide.  A  very  workable 
plan  is  to  bring  up  one  or  two  difficult  cases  at  each  meeting  and  ask 
for  advice.  It  is  a  mistake  not  to  have  this  body  become  acquainted  with 
the  details  in  the  history  and  treatment  of  some  of  the  families  which 
are  being  cared  for. 

Some  boards  find  it  advisable  to  bring  up  some  special  subject  to 
be  considered  at  each  meeting.  The  general  secretary  should  endeavor 
to  vary  these  special  subjects  as  much  as  possible,  and  should  draw  them 
out  of  the  actual  experiences  of  the  society.  It  is  generally  agreed, 
among  the  best  secretaries,  that  in  their  reports  to  the  board  they  should 
deliberately  suggest  more  lines  of  development  for  the  society  than  it 
can  possibly  take  up,  for  a  time  at  least.  Their  idea  in  doing  this  is 
simply  to  put  out  feelers  to  see  which  of  the  different  plans  appeal  to 
this  or  that  member  of  the  board.  When  the  actual  case  work  is  started, 
there  are  so  many  possibilities  for  development  that  inevitably  a  choice 
must  be  made.  But  the  secretary  should  endeavor  to  have  the  choice 
made  by  the  members  of  the  board,  and  in  this  way  interest  them  in 
the  things  which  attract  their  attention.  This  does  not  mean,  of  course, 
that  something  which  simply  demands  attention  immediately  should  be 
side-tracked,  in  order  that  there  may  be  variety  in  the  plans.  If  a  whole 
neighborhood  is  suffering  from  bad  sanitary  conditions,  that  ought  to 
be  hammered  at  incessantly.  But  a  skilfully  arranged  program  will 
reveal,  to  those  who  know,  the  constructive  mind,  endeavoring  gradually 
to  broaden  the  vision  of  the  society  by  discoveries  made  in  the  case  work 
itself. 

ADEQUATE    RELIEF 

As  soon  as  the  society  is  actually  at  work  it  will  be  necessary  to 
enunciate  the  principle  of  adequate  relief.  Generally  it  is  not  wise 
or  helpful  to  dwell  much  upon  this  principle  in  the  preliminary  prop- 

36 


aganda.  This  is  because  people  will  gain  the  impression  that  after  all 
the  society  is  only  another  relief  society,  with  high-sounding  purposes. 
It  is  far  better  to  wait  until  concrete  cases  are  found  in  which  the  usual 
sources  of  relief  are  inadequate.  Such  cases  should  be  most  carefully 
investigated,  and  every  possible  resource  approached.  Then,  if  some- 
thing  is  still  lacking,  the  committee  on  treatment  should  draw  the  at- 
tention of  the  executive  committee  or  the  board  to  the  situation.  It 
will  then  be  necessary  to  consider  whence  the  supplementary  relief  may  be 
obtained.  There  will  have  to  be  a  canvassing  of  societies,  not  essentially 
charitable  in  their  nature,  as  to  whether  they  will  help  in  these  special 
cases,  and  a  canvassing,  too,  of  private  persons  who  may  be  occasionally 
approached  for  the  same  purpose.  The  question  may  be  considered  as 
to  whether  appeals  in  the  newspapers,  without  names  of  families  but 
detailing  their  circumstances,  should  be  tried  or  not.  An  appeal  should 
never  be  so  definitely  worded  that  the  family  would  be  identified  by  any 
excepting  those  who  already  know  it. 

EMERGENCY  RELIEF 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  there  should  always  be  on  hand  a 
small  fund  to  be  used  in  emergency  cases  pending  the  securing  of  other 
relief.  Some  societies  now  provide  in  their  constitutions  that  such  relief 
may  be  given  out  of  the  regular  funds.  Otherwise,  some  body  or  some 
group  of  persons  must  arrange  for  a  private  fund.  The  secretary  must 
not  be  handicapped  by  the  inability  to  do  something  at  once  when  it  is 
required.  Emergency  relief  is  generally  given  in  comparatively  small 
amounts. 

EMPLOYMENT 

Industrial  agencies,  wood-yards,  sewing-rooms,  etc.,  may  or  may 
not  be  established  during  the  first  two  years.  The  policy  of  the  smaller 
societies  already  organized  varies  much  in  this  respect.  Many  of  them 
have  found,  as  a  measure  of  self-protection,  that  they  must  have  wood 
cutting  or  some  other  form  of  work  immediately  available  for  wandering 
single  men,  especially  when  tramps  are  numerous.  No  advice  can  safely 
be  given  by  one  unacquainted  with  local  conditions  on  this  point.  It 
should  be  added  that  the  tendency  now  is  tow^ards  the  creation  of 
municipal  lodging  houses  for  the  care  of  wanderers.  This  particular 
burden  should  be  borne,  if  possible,  by  the  whole  city. 

New  societies  should  avoid  by  all  means  the  establishment  of  em- 
ployment bureaus  as  such.  They  must,  of  course,  find  opportunities  for 
work  for  those  who  are  able  to  work  among  their  own  applicants,  but 

37 


that  is  a  different  thing  from  having  an  employment  bureau  to  which 
anyone  can  come  who  is  seeking  work  of  a  certain  kind.  When  there 
is  such  an  employment  bureau,  the  tendency  is  for  it  to  increase  its 
business  at  the  expense  of  the  family  work. 

THE   FINANCIAL  CAMPAIGN   AND  THE   PROPAGANDA 

No  matter  how  beautifully  is  done,  from  the  opening  day,  the 
work  of  a  society,  its  financial  support  will  not  be  assured,  even  if 
twenty-five  or  fifty  per  cent,  is  obtained  in  advance,  unless  there  is  a 
campaign  for  funds.  It  has  been  sometimes  said  that  a  good  charity 
will  draw  support  on  its  own  merits.  Nothing  is  more  fallacious.  Every 
charity  must  continually  thrust  itself  forward;  it  must  be  continually 
advertising  itself;  its  watchword  must  be  publicity,  publicity,  publicity. 
In  some  localities,  the  support  comes  easily.  In  a  city  where  a  society 
uses  less  than  $1200  the  task  may  be  comparatively  simple.  Yet,  in 
all,  some  effort  must  be  made.  Below  are  given  a  number  of  sugges- 
tions, not  with  the  idea  that  all  or  an5rwhere  near  all  the  methods  of 
attack  suggested  will  be  adapted  to  or  necessary  in  any  one  place : 

1.  So  far  as  printed  matter  is  concerned,  the  variety  of  leaflets  used 
will  depend  upon  the  size  of  city,  social  conditions,  etc.  But  it  is  help- 
ful to  publish,  either  separately  or  in  the  annual  report,  which  must  be 
published  in  any  case,  a  few  illustrative  cases.  Do  not  try  to  present  too 
many  of  these;  a  few  written  in  a  bright,  interesting  style,  with  the 
personalities  of  the  families  graphically  described,  will  be  worth  more 
than  a  bookful  of  dry  recitals.  Try  the  parallel  column  in  a  separate 
leaflet  about  one  or  two  cases,  reciting  how  wrongly  people  helped  before 
the  case  was  referred  to  the  society,  and  what  the  society  did.  Such  book- 
lets and  leaflets  may  be  sent  out  in  all  letters  and  distributed  at  church 
and  other  meetings. 

2.  Notices  of  board  and  committee  meetings  should  be  sent  to  the 
newspapers.    Use  the  newspapers  as  much  as  you  can. 

3.  In  a  city  of  fair  size  where  half  the  money  was  on  hand  before 
the  society  began  work,  three-quarters  of  the  remaining  amount,  viz., 
$1500,  was  obtained  through  the  writing  of  1500  personal  letters  by 
the  women  of  the  board.  This  does  not  mean  that  every  one  gave  a 
dollar,  by  any  means,  but  that  the  average  return  on  the  letters,  many 
of  which  were  never  answered,  was  one  dollar.  These  letters  were 
written  by  the  women,  upon  their  own  stationery.  It  was  an  irksome 
task  but  the  results  were  certainly  encouraging.    Most  of  these  contribu- 

38 


tlons  were  renewed  the  second  year  in  response  to  general  letters  of 
appeal. 

4.  The  men  upon  the  board  or  finance  committee,  if  there  is  one, 
may  also  send  personal  letters,  typewritten,  to  persons  whom  they  know. 

5.  A  general  letter  of  appeal  may  be  sent  out  signed  by  officers  of 
the  society  to  a  selected  list  obtained  from  club  membership  lists,  church 
reports,  telephone  book  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  from  the  city  directory. 

6.  Endeavor  to  have  the  churches  take  up  collections  either  at  the 
Thanksgiving  services  or  some  Sunday  morning. 

7.  In  order  to  make  the  work  of  the  society  more  widely  known, 
there  should  be  at  least  one  public  meeting  per  year,  the  annual  meeting; 
others  may  be  arranged  for  if  it  seems  wise  to  do  so.  Generally,  it 
has  been  found  best  to  hold  such  meetings  in  churches  at  the  time  of 
their  regular  Sunday  services.  Contributions  may  or  may  not  be  taken 
up  at  these  public  meetings. 

8.  Storekeepers  generally,  especially  those  having  small  establish- 
ments, should  be  approached,  possibly  by  a  paid  collector  or  a  number  of 
volunteers,  with  large  printed  cards  which  they  can  place  in  their 
windows  stating  that  all  applicants  for  relief  are  referred  to  the  society's 
office.     The  storekeepers  may  be  asked  to  become  paying  members. 

9.  Most  new  societies  start  out  with  the  laudable  idea  of  building 
up  a  very  large  membership  roll — membership  involving  the  payment 
of  $1  or  $2  or  $5  annual  dues — so  that  no  one  need  pay  more 
than  the  regular  dues.  Rarely,  if  ever,  does  this  plan  succeed.  A  rigid 
membership  system  does  draw  out  from  many  people  more  than  they 
would  otherwise  give.  On  the  other  hand,  it  reduces  the  amounts 
which  might  be  given  by  the  well-to-do.  No  system  must  interfere  with 
these  larger  donations,  because  they  are  absolutely  necessary.  Do  not 
attempt  to  rely  on  a  membership  system  which  seeks  to  obtain  a  uniform 
amount  from  everybody;  have  one  which  is  more  or  less  sliding  with  dif- 
ferent classes  of  memberships,  associate,  active,  sustaining,  life  and  pa- 
trons, or  one  requiring  say  a  minimum  payment  of  $2.  Be  sure  not 
to  emphasize  the  minimum  payment  except  in  dealing  with  those  who 
you  know  are  able  or  willing  to  give  only  the  smaller  amount. 

10.  Contributions  from  other  philanthropic  societies,  as  a  general 
rule,  should  not  be  solicited.  It  will  often  happen,  however,  that  when 
an  organization  has  observed  the  work  of  organized  charity  in  some 
particular  cases  in  which  it  is  interested,  it  will  make  a  contribution 
voluntarily. 

11.  Avoid  entangling  alliances  in  the  form  of  money  from  public 

39  • 


sources.  You  will  find  In  the  long  run  that  such  aid  will  hurt  rather 
than  help  you.  Private  citizens  are  far  more  disinclined  to  give  if  they 
know  that  you  are  drawing  from  the  public  crib,  even  if  you  are  drawing 
only  a  quarter  of  what  you  need.  There  is  not  so  serious  an  objection 
to  accepting  free  office  space  in  the  city  hall,  and  this  is  often  done. 

12.  Endeavor  to  secure  gifts  of  necessary  things  for  the  society — the 
telephone,  street  railroad  passes,  furniture,  etc. 

13.  Supplementing  these  and  other  plans,  there  must  be  more  or 
less  personal  solicitation  of  selected  persons  by  members  of  the  board 
and  by  others  interested.  A  society  with  no  directors  or  sympathizers 
willing  to  make  this  personal  sacrifice  cannot  be  said  to  be  in  an  en- 
tirely safe  position.  It  is  true  that  successful  financial  methods  vary 
according  to  local  conditions,  but  personal  solicitation  on  the  part  of 
some  volunteer  members  is  an  item  in  the  program  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  better  societies;  sometimes  the  work  is  done  by  the  board  as  a 
whole,  sometimes  by  a  few  individual  members. 

Any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  board  to  shuffle  this  responsibility 
upon  a  paid  collector  should  be  avoided  at  all  hazards.  A  hired  collector 
cannot  possibly  get  the  returns  which  the  other  methods  bring  in;  alto- 
gether the  experiments  in  this  direction  have  been  pretty  expensive. 

A  compromise  between  the  two  plans  is  sometimes  possible  in  a 
large  city,  but  almost  never  in  a  small  one.  We  refer  to  the  engaging  of  a 
financial  secretary  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  for  in  some  of  the  larger 
societies  financial  or  extension  secretaries  are  being  engaged  permanently. 
A  financial  secretary  is  a  very  different  person  from  a  paid  collector; 
he  or  she  will  do  a  lot  of  personal  soliciting,  but  it  will  be  simply  as 
secretary  of  a  committee.  A  financial  secretary  will  never  go  to  a  possible 
contributor  without  a  personal  letter  of  introduction  from  some  mem- 
ber of  the  board.  This  letter  itself  urges  the  addressee  to  make  a  con- 
tribution, the  financial  secretary  simply  backing  up  the  request.  Indeed, 
such  a  secretary  has,  as  one  of  his  chief  duties,  the  keeping  of  the  finance 
committee  up  to  the  mark,  and  inducing  the  other  members  of  the  board 
and  the  society  to  solicit  contributions  themselves. 

VII 

GENERAL    HINTS 

Avoid  the  appearance  of  attempting  to  dictate  how  all  the  charity 
work  in  the  city  should  be  done.  Emphasize  the  idea  that  you  are  the 
servant  of  all  who  will  work  together  and  not  the  ruler  of  any. 

40 


You  will  often  hear  a  silly  prejudice  expressed  against  salaried 
charity  workers.  There  is  one  stock  unanswerable  reply  to  that;  that 
if  it  is  wrong  to  pay  charity  workers,  who  are  shepherds  of  men's  hearts 
and  brains,  it  is  certainly  an  absolute  sin  to  pay  ministers  who  are  the 
shepherds  of  men's  souls. 

CO-OPERATION    WITH    HIGHLY    ORGANIZED   RELIGIOUS    CHARITIES 

New  societies  are  sometimes  discouraged  at  their  apparent  lack  of 
success  in  securing  co-operation  with  highly  organized  religious  charities. 
Catholic  charities,  oftentimes  Episcopal  charities,  and  sometimes  other 
denominational  charities  are  of  this  character.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  these  charities  possess  many  of  the  excellent  features  of  charity 
organization  work.  Naturally  their  directors  may  look  askance  at  a 
new  society  which  at  the  beginning,  at  least  as  they  view  it,  is  no  more 
able  to  deal  with  the  situation  than  they  are.  One  should  not  dwell 
therefore  too  much  upon  the  defects,  which  are  often  apparent  enough, 
of  such  charities,  but  approach  them  with  a  frankly  expressed  wish  to 
have  the  advantage  of  the  experience  of  their  directors  by  securing  their 
service  on  committees,  by  occasionally  meeting  the  superintendent,  etc. 
The  worldwide  Catholic  society,  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 
for  instance,  has  within  its  numbers  everywhere  men  of  sound  judgment 
and  vast  experience.  Gradually  there  will  come  to  such,  if  they  are 
brought  into  direct  contact  with  the  work  upon  committees,  a  realization 
of  the  great  value  of  extended  co-operation.  Above  all  else,  try  to 
increase  rather  than  decrease  the  work  done  by  such  organizations  by 
getting  their  help  in  families  whenever  possible,  at  the  same  time  showing 
how  the  society  itself  may  help  with  this  or  that  problem.  Even  the 
most  highly  organized  outdoor  relief  societies  will  soon  learn  to  appre- 
ciate the  utility  of  a  central  office  and  of  paid  workers  who  are  In 
contact  with  all  sorts  of  people  and  agencies. 

REPRESSIVE     WORK 

In  addition  to  checking  as  far  as  possible  duplication  of  relief,  a 
young  society  would  do  well  to  undertake  the  repression  of  door-to-door 
begging  by  professional  mendicants,  tramps,  etc.  This  is  a  public  service 
which  is  always  appreciated.  The  police  should  be  stirred  up  by  resolu- 
tions and  delegations  sent  to  city  officers,  etc.,  to  arrest  suspicious  char- 
acters. Wherever  they  think  a  man  or  woman  should  be  given  a  chance, 
use  may  be  made  of  the  kind  services  of  the  society.     Preach  morning, 

41 


noon  and  night  the  one  single  lesson, — send  to  the  society  the  persons 
who  beg  and  let  it  deal  with  them.  Enlist  the  support  of  the  police 
and  courts  in  the  stern  elimination  of  begging  by  children. 

JUDICIOUS   USE  OF  NEWSPAPERS 

In  small  communities  it  is  possible  for  societies  to  make  much 
greater  use  of  the  public  press  than  in  larger  places.  It  is  very  seldom 
that  the  editor  of  a  newspaper  in  a  city  of  from  10,000  to  40,000  is 
found  who  does  not  welcome  any  new  progressive  movement  of  this 
sort  with  hearty  friendliness  and  who  is  not  willing  to  give  it  just  as 
much  space  as  can  be  filled  to  advantage.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  work  up 
just  the  sort  of  material  which  will  be  the  most  successful  in  the  form 
of  newspaper  articles.  Of  course  accounts  of  board  and  committee 
meetings  may  be  published. 

As  to  the  publishing  of  concrete  cases,  without  names  of  course, 
there  is  a  genuine  element  of  danger  always  present  that  the  families 
themselves  will  see  the  articles  and  guess  that  they  are  the  ones  being 
written  about.  Nevertheless  If  the  cases  are  carefully  watched,  one  by 
one,  some  will  surely  be  discovered  in  which  this  danger  is  a  negligible 
quantity.  A  man  or  woman  or  child  or  a  whole  family  has  been  sent 
to  happier  surroundings  In  another  place,  for  instance.  Care  has  been 
procured  for  a  lone  woman  in  a  country  sanatorium  for  tubercular 
patients.  Or  it  is  some  foreign  family,  not  yet  Americanized,  which 
has  been  encouraged  and  guided  along  its  way.  And  so  on  indefinitely. 
Attention  is  called  to  the  art  of  writing  and  presenting  human  histories 
as  briefly  touched  upon  in  a  succeeding  paragraph. 

Statistics  of  the  work  which  are  not  uninteresting  may  occasionally 

be  offered   for  publication  but  they  should  be  given   in   homceopathic 

doses  and  with  illuminating  explanations  of  what   they   really  mean. 

A  simple  illustration  of  the  difference  between  well  and  badly  presented 

statistics : 

A  Bad  Way. 

Twenty-two  new  cases  were  considered  by  the  society  during  March  and 
eighty-nine  visits  were  made,  etc.,  etc. 

A  Good  Way. 

Twenty-two  families  hitherto  unknown  made  application  for  relief  of  vari- 
ous kinds  to  the  society.  The  society's  secretary  made  eighty-nine  visits  in  all  to 
the  homes  of  poor  families  and  to  societies  and  individuals  in  their  behalf. 

The  fullest  publicity  should  be  given  to  any  general  movement  for 
the  repression   of  mendicancy.     But  the  publication  of  any  warnings 

42 


against  certain  named  people  should  never  be  made  until  the  matter 
has  been  carefully  considered  by  the  lawyers  on  the  board. 

Whenever  the  society  attempts  to  correct  any  local  or  general  evil, 
such  as  bad  sanitation  or  bad  dwelling  houses,  as  the  result  of  its  in- 
vestigations of  families  whose  distress  may  be  due  to  the  evil,  there  is 
opportunity  for  a  considerable  amount  of  newspaper  prominence.  In 
such  agitations,  illustrations  of  the  hardships  wrought  upon  individual 
families  should  be  freely  used,  even  though  identification  were  possible. 

Some  of  the  newer  societies  have  adopted  the  suggestion  of  appoint- 
ing press  committees,  such  committees  to  be  composed  of  an  influential 
representative  of  each  one  of  the  local  papers.  Instead  of  having  re- 
porters, the  managing  editor  or  proprietor  or  some  other  important 
official  should  be  induced  to  serve  on  this  committee;  and  they  should 
be  made  to  feel  that  they  are  part  of  the  society.  If  they  do  become 
interested,  you  may  be  enabled  to  improve  the  kind  of  service  which  is 
performed  for  the  society,  and  incidentally  for  the  community,  in  the 
columns  of  the  papers.  The  creation  of  a  press  committee  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  that  the  members  of  the  committee  actually  prepare  the 
material  for  their  papers.  It  does  mean,  however,  that  those  who  are 
assigned  to  cover  the  associated  charities  office  may  be  of  a  better  caliber 
than  would  otherwise  be  assigned.  Furthermore,  you  can  always  apply 
directly  to  headquarters  for  any  special  write-ups,  etc.  Another  psycho- 
logical fact  is  to  be  borne  in  mind :  whenever  you  can  induce  a  newspaper 
man  to  get  enough  insight  into  the  work  to  write  pretty  good  charity 
organization  articles  himself,  you  have  attained  a  strong  strategic  posi- 
tion. You  will  be  able  to  put  things  in  much  more  readable  shape  than 
would  otherwise  be  possible,  and  his  services  will  become  more  and  more 
valuable. 

DRY-AS-DUST   MEMORANDA   VERSUS    HUMAN    HISTORIES 

In  newspaper  articles  and  in  the  presentation  of  the  work  of  the 
society  at  public  meetings,  much  depends  on  the  telling,  especially  with 
regard  to  the  human  histories  w^hich  are  used  as  illustrations.  Some 
present  real  histories,  some  dry-as-dust  memoranda.  This  has  already 
been  alluded  to,  but  it  may  be  well  to  say  just  a  little  more  about  it. 
The  main  trouble  about  very  many  illustrations  is  that  the  writers  or 
speakers  start  out  from  the  wrong  end.  They  recite  the  objective  things 
done  and  make  the  family  a  sort  of  convenient  peg  upon  which  to  hang 
their  recital.  The  family  appears  to  be  only  a  necessary  incident  to 
the  fact  that  things  were  done,  and  it  is  the  things  done  to  which  our 

43 


attention  is  principally  directed.  Such  histories  should  be  written  from 
the  subjective,  the  human  side.  The  members  of  the  family  should  be 
individualized  and  vitalized  until,  to  the  reader  or  auditor,  they  present 
themselves  as  real  and  understandable  men,  w^omen  and  children,  vi^ith 
real  faults  and  real  w^eaknesses.  Every  bit  of  relief — material,  moral, 
mental  or  environmental — must  be  described  vv^ith  reference  to  its  bearing 
upon  these  real  people  and  not  simply  catalogued.  This  is  not  at  all 
as  imposing  as  it  sounds.  It  may  be  a  little  harder  to  breathe  life  into 
one's  descriptions,  but  it  is  not  impossible  to  anyone  really  interested 
in  families  and  w^ith  a  fair  command  of  English.  The  secret  is  this: 
don't  sit  down  to  write  about  what  your  society  did  for  a  certain  family, 
but  to  write  the  history  of  that  family  as  far  as  you  know  it,  and  natur- 
ally the  efforts  of  the  society  will  be  revealed  in  their  true  proportions 
and  relations. 

To  illustrate:  If  you  are  in  a  hurry  to  tell  what  the  society  has 
done  you  will  be  tempted  to  state  baldly, 

This  family  consisted  of  a  respectable,  hard-working  widow  supporting 
three  children,  the  oldest  being  a  boy  of  thirteen  years,  etc.,  etc. 

But  if  you  want  that  family  to  become  real  to  your  readers,  you  will  say 
with  equal  truth. 

She  was  a  cheery,  good-hearted  mother,  who  was  fighting  bravely  to  keep 
her  three  children  with  her,  and  making  a  winning  fight  of  it,  too.  Bob,  the 
eldest,  a  boy  of  13,  was  her  chief  concern,  as  he  was  inclined  to  dispute  her  au- 
thority and  to  run  the  streets  at  night.  The  other  two,  Alice,  a  vivacious  girl 
of  ten,  and  John,  her  little  brother  of  five,  had  just  the  ordinary  amount  of 
naughtiness. 

However  much  this  particular  illustration  may  be  torn  to  pieces — 
remember,  it  is  an  illustration,  not  a  model — it  shows  plainly  the  dif- 
ference in  method,  and  the  vivid,  human  touch  is  revealed  in  many 
booklets  of  family  histories  that  have  been  issued  in  recent  years  by  some 
of  the  more  prominent  societies;  samples  of  these  may  be  had  upon 
request.  Models  are  scarcely  necessary,  though,  if  one  has  duly  impressed 
upon  his  consciousness  the  idea  that,  first  of  all,  he  must  portray  the 
human  aspects  of  the  problem,  leaving  objective  treatment  to  fall  into 
its  proper  place  in  the  scheme. 

THE   USE  OF  THE  PARALLEL  COLUMN. 

In  the  suggestion  regarding  circulars,  etc.,  under  the  Financial 
Campaign  and  the  Propaganda  (p.  38),  mention  has  been  made  under 
(i)  of  the  use  of  the  parallel  column  in  circulars,  reports,  etc.  To 
illustrate : 

44 


WHICH  IS  MORE  CHARITABLE? 

A  Piece  from  the  Scrap  Book  of  the  Society. 

The  Problem :  A  man  of  good  connections  in  England  sent  to  

by  relatives  on  an  allowance  because  of  his  gross  intemperance. 

What  Non-Co-operating  People  Did.         What  the  Society  Did  When  Co-oper- 
He  always  claimed  that  his   allow-  ^'^^  ^^''•^^"•^   referred  Him   to  the 


ance    was    behind    time    and    he    was 


OiJice. 


without  money.     People  gave  him  fifty  Persons  sent  him  to  us.     Communi- 

cents  or  five  dollars,  or  nothing.  What  cated  with  relatives  through  a  corre- 
he  obtained  this  way  went  mostly  for  sponding  society.  Found  allowance  al- 
drink;  he  was  dragged  down  further  ways  came  on  time.  He  squandered 
into  the  mire  because  of  these  bene-  it  in  drink.  Arranged  with  relatives 
factions.  to     have     allowance     sent    to     society. 

Afterwards  arranged  with  relatives  to 
give  him  a  chance  to  get  on  his  feet 
again,  by  their  paying  his  board  in  an 
institution  for  inebriates  where  both 
physical  and  moral  treatment  were  pro- 
vided. Now  working  steadily  in  a 
position  secured  by  the  institution  au- 
thorities. Thus  he  was  given  the  only 
possible  chance  to  make  something  of 
himself. 

Note. — There  is  nothing  magic  in  the  change — nothing  but  the  triumph  of 
co-operation — a  little  thought,  a  few  letters,  accomplished  more  than  all  the 
blindly  given  aid. 


BUDGETS  AND  THE  QUESTION  OF  THE  GENERAL  SECRETARY 

The  biggest  item  in  every  charity  organization  society's  budget  is  the 
salary,  or  salaries,  of  the  paid  workers,  so  that  the  two  subjects  included 
in  this  sub-head  should  be  considered  together. 

Herewith  are  given  a  few  typical  budgets.  In  the  one  or  two  cases 
in  which  the  society  gives  other  than  emergency  relief  from  the  general 
fund,  these  expenditures  have  been  taken  out,  so  that  the  actual  cost  of 
personal  service  and  of  the  administrative  expenses  only  are  here  indi- 
cated. If  these  are  adequately  provided  for,  then  there  is  no  trouble 
about  getting  sufficient  relief  money  in  one  way  or  another.  In  every 
case,  except  one,  the  budget  given  is  for  the  first  year's  work  of  a  society; 
in  one  case,  the  second  year  is  given,  because  it  is  more  truly  repre- 
sentative of  the  initial  plans. 


45 


BUDGETS    OF    SIX   SOCIETIES 


Southern 
City  of 
33.000 


Salaries 

General  Secretary 

Assistant  Secretary 

Or  Stenographer. 

Visiting  Nurse 

Colored  Visitor 

Travelers'  Aid  Matron  . . . 

Office  Expenses 

Rent   (Inc.  heat,  light  and 

janitor)     

Telephone  and  Telegraph  . 

Postage  

Supplies    

Printing    


Car  Fare  

Books    

Emergency  Relief  

Permanent  Equipment 

Secretary's  Expense  to  Na- 
tional Conference  of 
Charities  and  Correction 

Miscellaneous    

Total  


Middle  Southern 

Western  city  of 

City  of  60,000 
70.000 


$1200 


600 


144 
66 
50 

50 

50 

50 

100 

50 


75 


$1800.00 
600.00 


2435 


385.18 
51.90 
50.00 
14.00 
83.30 

50.00 


162.78 


43.00 


6.52 


3246.68 


$1500 
720 

1  600 

1  200 

2  495 


228 

112 

85 

250 

50 

10 

300 

173 


30 


5$1588.00 


West  of 

Mississippi 

City  of 

26,500 


151.50 

59.79 

140.78 

1 341.36 
13.10 


Southern 
City  of 
25,000 


5$1323.00 


202.98 
48.64 


Middle 

Western 

City  of 

8000 


$600 


4753 


72.50 
6.50 


2373.53 


22.82 
1  37.40 

35 

11.70 

.  .  . 

181.37 

.  .  . 

214.68 

32 

100.00 

36.26 

.   .   . 

2178.85 

674 

^  For  Eight  Months. 

-  For  Eleven  Months. 

'  Membership,  Exchange  Branch. 

*  Office  given  by  Public  Department    If  rent  had  to  be  paid  the  budget  would  have  been  about  $890  or  $900. 

*  Includes  expenditures  for  assistant's  services  for  part  of  year. 


There  are  several  things  to  be  noted  about  these  budgets:  they  are, 
as  Indicated,  the  original  budgets  of  some  of  the  societies  recently  organ- 
ized or  reorganized ;  they  are  for  the  Initial  period  and,  In  every  case,  the 
amount  expended  under  "salaries"  for  personal  service  v^^IU  Increase  from 
year  to  year,  as  the  number  of  vi^orkers  necessarily  increases.  It  is  use- 
less for  any  society  in  a  city  of  20,000  or  over  to  start  w^ith  less  than  a 
secretary  and  an  assistant.  In  some  instances,  In  cities  of  less  than  20,000, 
it  Is  safe  to  experiment  v^^Ith  the  full  time  of  one  vs^orker.  In  cities  of 
from  5000  to  10,000  it  may  be  possible  to  get  on  with  the  half-time 
services  of  a  worker,  as  above  Indicated.  Roughly  speaking,  $2000 
will  represent  the  minimum  required  for  the  organization  of  a  society 

46 


In  a  city  of  20,000  or  over.  It  will  be  observed  that  three  of  these 
cities  are  Southern  cities;  they  are  used  because  they  demonstrate  the 
determination  of  the  South  to  organize  on  the  best  basis,  and  because 
they  will  serve  at  the  same  time  as  object  lessons  in  cities  w^here  there 
have  been,  or  will  be,  attempts  to  organize  on  too  stingy  a  basis.  The 
South  is  not  as  rich  as  the  North,  but  it  has  demonstrated  that  only  de- 
termination Is  required  in  order  to  do  the  thing  properly.  When  a  city 
reaches  40,000  or  over,  then  the  budget  of  expenses  must  be  between 
$2000  and  $4000.  It  cannot  be  too  often  emphasized  that,  when  a  city 
is  not  willing  to  organize  upon  such  a  basis,  it  is  better  for  the  move- 
ment to  wait,  rather  than  to  go  ahead  and  fail  of  its  purpose.  The 
country  is  strewn  with  the  wrecks  of  such  societies,  which  have  started 
out  with  brave  purposes  and,  as  above  indicated,  have  foundered. 

THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  GENERAL  SECRETARY  AND  THE  DIRECTORS 

In  the  first  place,  the  burden  of  raising  the  money  for  the  budget 
should  never  be  shifted  to  the  shoulders  of  the  general  secretary.  The 
general  secretary  may  very  well  help  with  suggestions,  with  personal 
Interviews  with  selected  persons,  etc.,  but  the  responsibility  should  be 
where  It  belongs.  The  general  secretary  is  there  to  see  that  results  come 
from  the  presence  of  the  society,  so  that  its  existence  may  be  justified. 
But  results  cannot  be  obtained  if  all  the  nervous  worry  connected  with 
the  money  problem  falls  upon  the  officer  charged  to  bring  about  results. 
Moreover,  it  is  unjust  to  force  an  executive  officer  to  hustle  around  to 
raise  his  own  salary,  which  is  always  the  largest  single  Item  In  the  budget. 
It  lowers  his  own  dignity  as  well  as  the  standing  of  the  society. 

In  the  second  place,  the  oversight  over  ordinary  routine  work  main- 
tained by  the  board  or  executive  and  case  committees,  in  case  there  are 
such  committees,  should  be  largely  of  an  advisory  character,  and  should 
not  become  rigidly  supervisory.  Broad  questions  of  policy  must  of  course 
be  settled  by  the  directors;  but  while  the  secretary  should  be  encouraged 
to  consult  directors  at  all  times,  both  with  reference  to  treatment  of 
families  and  the  relations  of  the  society  to  its  supporters,  he  should  never 
be  shorn  of  a  very  large  sense  of  freedom  In  initiative.  If  he  cannot  be 
trusted  with  this,  he  is  not  the  proper  person  for  the  place.  One  most 
valuable  attribute  of  charity  organization  work  Is  promptness,  whenever 
the  right  thing  to  do  has  been  ascertained.  Sometimes  impulsive  people 
have  claimed  that  It  was  anything  but  prompt,  but  that  Is  because  Its 
workers  do  not  decisively  act  before  they  learn  what  is  the  right  thing 
to   do.     When   once  that   is   ascertained,   absolute   emergencies   in   the 

47 


meantime  having  been  met,  a  rightly  constituted  charity  organization 
society  can  act  with  greater  celerity  than  most  philanthropic  agencies. 
Why?  Because  in  ordinary  affairs,  requiring  immediate  attention",  the 
executive  head  can  act  vi^ithout  being  obliged  to  secure  the  approval  of 
some  committee  or  board.  Therefore,  you  who  found  new  societies,  do 
not  take  away  the  precious  power  of  initiative  from  your  secretary.  In 
the  cases  which  the  secretary  submits  to  you,  you  will  be  able  to  point  out 
errors  and  omissions  and  lapses.  In  the  meantime  you  can  learn  what 
actual  power  to  rise  to  emergencies  exists.  But  you  must  learn  to  trust 
your  executive  officer,  which  does  not  mean  that  you  will  fail  to  criticize 
whenever  the  need  appears.  Confidence  you  must  have  in  him,  while 
recognizing  weaknesses.  If  you  do  not  have  increasing  confidence  and 
trust  in  your  secretary  you  need  a  new  one.  A  wise  secretary  will  wel- 
come advice  on  his  attitude  towards  those  who  co-operate  with  the  so- 
ciety and  refer  cases  to  it.  It  often  happens  that  a  very  good  case  worker 
is  unfortunate  in  the  way  he  expresses  differences  of  opinion  to  those  re- 
ferring cases  when  he  differs  from  them  as  to  the  treatment  needed.  In 
the  fulness  of  his  heart  he  says  and  writes  things  which  stir  up  unneces- 
sary antagonisms.  There  will  always  be  pugnacious  and  obstinate  ir- 
reconcilables,  and  sometimes  the  peppery  letter  or  word  is  necessary;  but 
usually  a  well-meaning  person  is  open  to  conviction,  if  the  other  side  of 
the  case  can  be  strongly  presented  to  him,  coupled  with  an  expressed  wish 
for  further  conference,  so  that  a  mutually  agreeable  conclusion  may  be 
reached.  A  single  impolitic  remark  may  make  a  bitter  enemy  of  such  a 
person.  Nor  must  directors  and  secretary  forget  that  while  there  are 
times  when  principles  should  be  adhered  to  without  yielding  an  inch, 
there  are  other  times  when  concessions  should  be  made.  It  is  far  better 
to  induce  a  person  to  accept  a  part  of  a  principle,  sometimes,  than  to 
allow  him  to  cut  off  his  relations  with  the  society  and  go  his  own  sweet 
way  without  any  improvement  in  methods. 

Now  in  this  difficult  department  of  charity  organization  diplomacy 
the  advice  and  suggestion  of  directors  is  of  inestimable  value  to  new 
secretaries,  and,  as  said  before,  the  wise  ones  will  take  advantage  of  it. 
When  directors  are  consulted,  they  should  realize  the  importance  of  the 
thing  and  give  their  best  thought  to  each  specific  problem.  Obviate  un- 
necessary antagonisms — that  should  be  the  principle. 

ARRANGING  FOR  MEETINGS 

Plan  out  carefully  the  program  to  be  followed  at  each  meeting. 
Not  only  should  written  notices  be  sent,  but  those  whom  you  particularly 

48 


want  to  be  present  should  be  seen  personally  or  telephoned  to  and  their 
consent  obtained.  Then  remind  these  special  ones  an  hour  or  half  an 
hour  before  the  appointed  time  of  their  engagement.  See  that  notices 
of  each  meeting  explain  very  briefly  the  chief  object  of  the  meeting. 
Select  your  chairmen,  particularly  In  the  preliminary  meetings,  with  some 
care,  so  that  the  main  Issues  will  not  be  side-tracked. 

OFFICE   HOURS 

In  a  society  In  which  there  Is  only  one  paid  officer,  the  general 
secretary.  It  becomes  necessary  to  have  the  office  open  only  during  cer- 
tain hours  of  the  day,  so  that  Investigations,  visits,  etc.,  may  be  made 
by  him.  The  best  plan  Is  to  have  an  early  morning  hour  and  a  late 
afternoon  hour;  for  Instance,  9-10  A.  M.  and  4-5  P.  M.  This  makes  It 
possible  to  receive  requests  to  visit  families  sent  by  telephone  or  the 
morning  mall  during  the  first  hour  and  to  receive  at  4  P.  M.  persons 
who  may  be  sent  during  the  day  to  the  office.  Thus  one  who  has 
a  beggar  at  her  door  at  noon  will  know  that  she  can  tell  him  to  go  to 
the  office  In  the  afternoon.  Otherwise  she  may  be  tempted  to  give, 
knowing  no  one  can  look  after  him  until  the  next  day. 


49 


INDEX 


Associated  charities,   an   alternative 
title    I 

Begging,    factor   in    starting   move- 
ment         4 

repression   of    i4>  4* 

Board    of    directors:    representation 
on  of  business  and  professional 

men   9 

clergy    1 1 

women    1 1 

figure-heads     lo 

other  members    i2 

election  of 14,  i6 

minimum  service  of 10 

meetings  of   36 

reports  of  general  secretary  to. .   36 

Budgets,  preliminary  pledges  ...   8,  22 

salaries  in    45 

typical     45 

Business  men • 2 

on  board  of  directors  7-9,  10 

Case  work,  emphasis  on  at  start. . .   30 

Central  council   28-29 

Children,  work  for   34 

Children's  societies,  co-operation  of.     6 
Churches,  in  preliminary  organiza- 
tion       4,  12,  15,  16 

securing  co-operation  of 5 

duplication  of  work 31 

registration  and   31 

and  volunteer  service   35 

collections     39 

annual  meetings  at   39 

Clergymen,  representation  on  board 

of  directors   n 

as    chairmen    of    executive    com- 
mittees     13 

on  treatment  committee 34 

Committee  on  organization   5 


Co-operation,  in  registration 30-31 

in  investigation   32-33 

with  churches   32 

with  religious  charities    41 

Day  nurseries,  securing  co-operation 

of  6 

Doctors,  on  board  of  directors  ....     9 

on  treatment  committee    35 

Dried-up  societies    26-28 

Emergency  relief   37 

Employment,     board     of     directors 

and    10 

bureaus    37-3S 

Ex  officio  members  of  board 12 

Executive       committee,       minimum 

service    of    10 

chairmanship  of   13 

meetings  of   36 

Figure-heads   10 

Finances,   preliminary   budget...   8,  22 

campaign  for  funds 38-40 

finance   committ  e    23 

Financial   secretary    40 

General     secretary,     selection     and 

training  of 21 

budgets  and    45-47 

relation  to  directors  47-48 

Croupal  or  country  society 25-26 

Investigation    32-33 

Lawyers,  on  board  of  directors 9 

on  treatment  committee   35 

Membership  in  society  39 

Newspapers,  for  special  appeals.  ...   37 
general  use  of  42-44 

Office  hours  49 


60 


INDEX— Continued 


Other    charitable    societies,    prelim- 
inary canvass  of  5-6 

formal  endorsement  by   6-7 

representation  on  board    12 

on  treatment  committee   35 

Outdoor    relief    agencies,    co-opera- 
tion with    5,  6,  41 

registration  and  public 30 

Public    officials,    securing    co-opera- 
tion with   5-6,  41 

Paid  trained  worker,  necessity  of . .     2 

in  groupal  society 26 

Port  Jervis,  record  of  24 

President,  choice  of  13 

Press  committees    43 

Printed  matter,  leaflets  38 

case  stories 38,  43-45 

publishing  names    42-43 

Professional  men    2 

on  board  of  directors 7-9,  10 

Propaganda,  preliminary  period 

3-4.  16-17 

financial  campaign  and 38-40 

Public  meeting   ..   13-14,  15-16,  28,  48 

Referring  cases   3^-33 

Registration    30-32 

Relief,   adequate    36-37 

material    34 


Relief,  emergency 37 

employment    37-38 

case  system  of 37 

Relief  agencies,  and  preliminary  or- 
ganization       6,  15,  17 

investigation  for 32 

Repressive  work   41 

Sanitary  reform    3,  36,  43 

Schools,  representation  on  board  of 

directors     12,  16 

on  treatment  committee   35 

Smaller  city  problem  23-25 

Social  inquiry 20,  24-25 

Trades     union     representative,     on 
board  of  directors 12 

on  treatment  committee    35 

Treatment  of  cases 33-35 

committee  on  34 

Tuberculosis  committee   4,  28 

Underwriting    22-23 

Volunteer  service   35 

in  committee  organization  plan..  25 
study  course  and   25 

Women,  representation  on  board  of 

directors     2,  11 

in  case  treatment    34 

Woodyards    37 


51 


Charity  Organization  Department 

OF  THE  RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 

MISS  M.  E.  RICHMOND.  Director       FRANCIS  H.  McLEAN,  Field  Sec'y       MISS  M.  F.  BYINGTON,  Asso.  Field  Sec'y 

Publications  of  the  Department 
The  Dominant  Note  of  Modern  Philanthropy 

40  Cents  per  Hundred       Edward  T.  Devine 

The  Broadening  Sphere  of  Organized  Charity 

40  Cents  per  Hundred        Robert  W,  deForest 

The  Formation  of  Charity  Organization  Societies 

in  Smaller  Cities  (New  edition)         Francis  H.  McLean 

$6.00  per  Hundred 

Organization  in  Smaller  Cities  Alexander  Johnson 

40  Cents  per  Hundred 

First  Principles  in  the  Relief  of  Distress     Mary  E.  Richmond 

40  Cents  per  Hundred 
Friendly  Visiting        40  Cents  per  Hundred      ^^^y  E.  Richmond 

The  Inter-relation  of  Social  Movements,  with  information 
about  sixty-seven  organizations  national  in  scope. 
$1.50  per  Hundred 

Transportation  Agreement  and  Code 

15  Cents  Each 

Real  Story  of  a  Real  Family 

7  Cents  Each 

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Two  Alternative  Model  Record  Forms,  60  cents  per  100,  plus  postage. 

Homeless  Man  Record  Card,  50  cents  per  100,  plus  postage. 

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Inquiry  Blanks,  20  cents  per  pad  of  100,  plus  postage. 

Inquiry  Reply  Blanks,  20  cents  per  pad  of  100,  plus  postage. 

Sample  copies  of  all  of  the  above  will  be  sent  free  of  charge  upon  request, 
or  in  quantities  at  the  prices  named.     Address 

Charity  Organization  Department 

of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation 

Room  613,  105  E.  22d  St.,  New  York  City 

*The  Exchange  Branch  is  a  group  of  twenty-four  charity  organization  societies  banded  together  to  exchange  forms 
monthly  and  to  serve  one  another  and  the  cause  of  charity  organization  in  other  ways. 


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